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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. net — in sport
  3. fork — in a road
  4. current — electric
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. current — of water
  11. cold — an illness
  12. net — after costs
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. current — happening now
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. net — for catching
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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