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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. mine — for digging
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. last — finally
  6. spring — a coil
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. hand — help
  9. last — to go on
  10. saw — the tool
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. fine — all right
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spring — the season
  17. vault — a safe
  18. last — final
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. spring — of water
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. fine — high quality
  24. saw — the tool

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