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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. press — to push
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. press — newspapers
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. lean — to bend
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. wind — moving air
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. lean — thin
  21. ball — a dance
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. press — a publisher
  24. calf — of the leg

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