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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fine — all right
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. ball — a dance
  13. rule — government
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. hand — in cards
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. fine — high quality
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. ball — a great time
  22. vault — a safe
  23. bark — to shout
  24. ball — a round shape

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