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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bore — to tire
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. sharp — clever
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. rock — a stone
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. net — in sport
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bore — to drill
  14. game — wild animals
  15. net — for catching
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. net — after costs
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. rock — music
  22. vault — a safe
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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