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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. vault — a safe
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. prune — to trim
  10. hand — in cards
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. plane — a tool
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. hand — help
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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