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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. vault — a safe
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bound — tied together
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wake — a trail
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. bound — obliged
  11. net — after costs
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. march — the month
  17. prune — to trim
  18. net — in sport
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. prune — to trim
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. bound — certain
  23. net — for catching
  24. lash — an eyelash

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