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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. row — to paddle
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. cold — an illness
  6. court — of a king
  7. fork — in a road
  8. branch — a division
  9. row — a line
  10. vault — a safe
  11. hand — help
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. court — for sport
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. foot — a measure
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. hand — in cards
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. court — of law
  23. cold — not warm
  24. branch — of a tree

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