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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. last — finally
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. last — final
  5. pop — music
  6. cold — not warm
  7. last — to go on
  8. vault — a safe
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mug — a face
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. key — for a lock
  18. mug — a cup
  19. pop — soda
  20. mug — to rob
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — in music
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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