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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  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. mate — a partner
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bore — to drill
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mate — a friend
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ground — a position
  14. bore — to tire
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. ground — crushed
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. mate — to breed
  20. chair — a leader
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. chair — to sit on
  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