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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. rock — a stone
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. plane — a tool
  12. track — a path
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — in sport
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wax — to grow
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. last — finally
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. track — a song
  24. track — to keep track

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