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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. current — of water
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. face — part of the head
  8. net — in sport
  9. last — final
  10. current — electric
  11. face — to confront
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. rash — a series
  16. current — happening now
  17. rash — hasty
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. last — to go on
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. vault — a safe
  24. last — finally

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