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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. kick — in football
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. last — final
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cell — a phone
  10. wake — a trail
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cell — in biology
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. vault — a safe
  17. tear — from crying
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. last — to go on
  23. tear — from crying
  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