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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. last — final
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. mate — a partner
  5. last — to go on
  6. spring — of water
  7. cell — a phone
  8. mate — a friend
  9. rash — hasty
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. net — in sport
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rash — a series
  15. vault — a safe
  16. net — for catching
  17. cell — in biology
  18. net — after costs
  19. mate — to breed
  20. spring — the season
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. last — finally
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. spring — a coil

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