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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · face · kid · pitcher · vault · bore · firm · wound

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. kid — child
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. firm — a company
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. bore — to tire
  8. kid — to tease
  9. face — to confront
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. face — to point toward
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. face — part of the head
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bore — to drill
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. firm — steady
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — crushed
  23. firm — decided
  24. ground — the earth

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