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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 116 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. board — to get on
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. vault — a safe
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. last — final
  10. ball — a dance
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. rush — hurry
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. drill — a practice
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. board — a committee
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. stem — to come from
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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