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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. mate — to breed
  5. pop — music
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — to visit
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. last — finally
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. mark — a grade
  13. season — in sport
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. wind — moving air
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mate — a friend
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mark — a trace
  22. season — of the year
  23. kid — child
  24. mate — a partner

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