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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. lean — to bend
  5. vault — a safe
  6. game — wild animals
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cell — a phone
  9. game — a match
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. pit — in a race
  15. lean — thin
  16. cell — in biology
  17. dip — to sink
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. date — the fruit
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a face
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. mug — a cup
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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