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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. vault — a safe
  3. bat — the animal
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wind — moving air
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. court — of a king
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rush — hurry
  14. net — in sport
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. court — for sport
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. court — of law
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — for catching
  24. rush — a thrill

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