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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. cell — in biology
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. lean — to bend
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. vault — a safe
  13. pop — soda
  14. land — ground
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pop — music
  20. lean — thin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. can — a tin

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