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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. rash — hasty
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. wax — to grow
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. hand — in cards
  14. vault — a safe
  15. hand — help
  16. rash — a series
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting

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