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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. mine — for digging
  3. shower — to wash
  4. vault — a safe
  5. ball — a dance
  6. net — for catching
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. net — in sport
  9. cap — a lid
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cap — a hat
  14. ball — a great time
  15. cap — of ice
  16. shower — rain
  17. net — after costs
  18. plane — a tool
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mine — belonging to me

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