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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. row — a line
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. row — to paddle
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. key — for a lock
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. key — the most important part
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. roll — a list
  21. roll — a cake
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. vault — a safe

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