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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. row — a line
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cell — in biology
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cell — a phone
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. wound — an injury
  15. toast — bread
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. vault — a safe
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — to sink
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. row — a quarrel

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