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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. vault — a safe
  3. prune — to trim
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. plane — a tool
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. saw — the tool
  10. lean — to bend
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. cold — not warm
  15. saw — the tool
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. track — a song
  19. track — a path
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. track — to keep track
  22. lean — thin
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cold — the Cold War

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