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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. vault — a safe
  4. track — to keep track
  5. last — to go on
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. shower — to wash
  12. snap — to click
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. track — a path
  15. rest — what's left
  16. track — a song
  17. last — final
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. last — finally
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. shower — rain

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