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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. key — the most important part
  3. last — final
  4. key — in music
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. face — part of the head
  7. last — finally
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cue — a signal
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. key — for a lock
  12. cold — not warm
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. last — to go on
  17. face — to confront
  18. vault — a safe
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a hint
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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