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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 124 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bore — to tire
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. rash — a series
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — a phone
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stock — goods
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. season — in sport
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bore — to drill
  20. row — a line
  21. stock — shares
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. vault — a safe

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