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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. toast — bread
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. ground — a position
  6. chair — a leader
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. ground — crushed
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. tube — the underground
  13. plane — a tool
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. vault — a safe
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. net — after costs
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. ground — the earth
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bark — to shout
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bark — 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