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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. board — a committee
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. shower — to wash
  6. kid — to tease
  7. squash — to crush
  8. land — a country
  9. prune — to trim
  10. board — to get on
  11. shower — rain
  12. land — ground
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. prune — to trim
  15. squash — the sport
  16. vault — a safe
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. land — to come down
  22. last — final
  23. kid — child
  24. prune — the fruit

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