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

Word bank: bore · tear · foot · game · vault · pop · wind · net

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tear — from crying
  4. vault — a safe
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. pop — soda
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bore — to drill
  12. pop — to visit
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. tear — to rip
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bore — to tire
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — for catching
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. foot — part of the body

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