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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. root — of a word
  3. roll — a cake
  4. last — final
  5. fine — all right
  6. root — the cause
  7. last — to go on
  8. bass — low music
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. roll — a list
  13. last — finally
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. track — a song
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. root — of a plant
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. bass — the fish
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. fine — high quality
  22. scale — size or range
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a path

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