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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 120 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hand — in cards
  5. march — music
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. hand — help
  8. vault — a safe
  9. current — of water
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. current — electric
  13. march — the month
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. current — happening now
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. file — a tool

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