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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. lie — to recline
  3. wake — a trail
  4. spring — a coil
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. squash — the sport
  8. cold — not warm
  9. shower — to wash
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. cold — an illness
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. shower — rain
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. spring — of water
  16. vault — a safe
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bass — the fish
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bass — low music
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. spring — the season

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