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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. vault — a safe
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. can — a tin
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stem — to come from
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. sharp — clever
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bat — the animal
  12. can — to be able to
  13. game — a match
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. game — wild animals
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wound — an injury
  18. board — a committee
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. can — a tin
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. board — to get on

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