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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mine — for digging
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. hand — help
  14. vault — a safe
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. row — to paddle
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. object — a thing
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. object — to protest
  22. saw — the tool
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. march — music

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