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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. wound — an injury
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. mate — to breed
  7. pitch — completely
  8. mate — a friend
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bore — to drill
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. press — to push
  14. vault — a safe
  15. press — newspapers
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a music group
  18. mate — a partner
  19. press — a publisher
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. shower — to wash
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. shower — rain

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