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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. track — a path
  4. season — in sport
  5. last — finally
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. season — of the year
  17. track — a song
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. track — to keep track
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. rash — a series
  24. season — to add flavour

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