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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to drill
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. mug — to rob
  12. tear — to rip
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mate — a friend
  16. vault — a safe
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. squash — the sport
  20. dip — to sink
  21. bore — to tire
  22. mate — a partner
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. mug — a face

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com