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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 120 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. shower — to wash
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — a safe
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. plane — a tool
  9. scale — in music
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. present — the time now
  14. wind — moving air
  15. present — there
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kid — to tease
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. scale — size or range
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. kid — child
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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