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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. mate — to breed
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bore — to drill
  6. vault — a safe
  7. press — a publisher
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bore — to tire
  10. last — finally
  11. track — a song
  12. track — to keep track
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. last — to go on
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. last — final
  23. track — a path
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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