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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bear — the animal
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bore — to tire
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. bore — to drill
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. last — to go on
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. last — finally
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. vault — a safe
  21. last — final
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. file — a document
  24. bear — to put up with

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