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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. key — in music
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. vault — a safe
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bound — obliged
  12. roll — a list
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. roll — a cake
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. last — finally
  19. bound — certain
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. last — to go on
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. bound — tied together
  24. last — final

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