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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. pit — a hole
  4. ball — a great time
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. press — to push
  8. saw — the tool
  9. ball — a dance
  10. saw — the tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — a tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bore — to drill
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. press — a publisher
  21. cold — an illness
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bore — to tire

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