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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. date — the fruit
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. cell — in biology
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. spell — magic
  14. cell — a phone
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. vault — a safe
  18. kid — child

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