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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. ground — a position
  8. drill — army training
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. sharp — clever
  11. spring — a coil
  12. drill — a practice
  13. spring — of water
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. last — to go on
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. spring — the season
  19. vault — a safe
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bass — low music
  22. last — final
  23. drill — the tool
  24. last — finally

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