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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bank — for money
  6. wind — moving air
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. current — of water
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. current — happening now
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. spring — a coil
  16. vault — a safe
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. sharp — clever
  20. row — to paddle
  21. spring — the season
  22. current — electric
  23. row — a line
  24. spring — of water

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