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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. key — the most important part
  3. vault — a safe
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. key — in music
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. drill — a practice
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. ground — the earth
  13. key — for a lock
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. last — final
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bark — to shout
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. drill — army training

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