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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. swing — to play on
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. swing — music
  6. pit — a hole
  7. row — a line
  8. fine — high quality
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fine — all right
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. vault — a safe
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. swing — in golf
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pit — in a race

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