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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. chest — of your body
  3. drill — the tool
  4. mine — for digging
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bulb — for light
  9. vault — a safe
  10. bulb — for light
  11. chest — a box
  12. chip — to eat
  13. drill — army training
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. chip — for betting
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. drill — a practice
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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