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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. vault — a safe
  3. tube — the underground
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. hand — help
  10. row — a line
  11. mark — a grade
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rash — a series
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. row — to paddle
  17. toast — bread
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tube — a container
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. tube — in a tire

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