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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  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. club — for golf
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to drill
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. club — a group
  8. clip — a video
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. kid — child
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. file — a line of people
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. file — a tool
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. bore — to tire
  23. club — for dancing
  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