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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. shower — rain
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. vault — a safe
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wax — to grow
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. branch — a division
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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