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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. lean — to bend
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bore — to drill
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. vault — a safe
  9. game — wild animals
  10. kid — child
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. bore — to tire
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. capital — a city
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — thin
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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