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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 124 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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. vault — a safe
  3. ball — a dance
  4. pop — soda
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pop — to visit
  7. shower — to wash
  8. file — a tool
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. shower — rain
  11. march — the month
  12. file — a line of people
  13. game — a match
  14. ball — a great time
  15. march — the month
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. march — music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. game — wild animals
  21. pop — music
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. wound — an injury

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