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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 116 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. fine — high quality
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. vault — a safe
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. last — to go on
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. pass — a permit
  18. wind — moving air

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