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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ground — the earth
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rash — hasty
  6. vault — a safe
  7. wound — an injury
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. club — a group
  13. ground — crushed
  14. club — for dancing
  15. rash — a series
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. ground — a position
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wax — to grow
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wound — an injury
  22. shower — rain
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. club — for golf

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