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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 120 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. row — a line
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rule — government
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rule — a law
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rock — music
  13. bore — to drill
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bat — the animal
  23. rock — a stone
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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