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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. mine — for digging
  3. march — music
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. snap — to click
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. game — wild animals
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. game — a match
  14. march — the month
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. march — the month
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bowl — a dish

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