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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. shower — rain
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kid — child
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. face — part of the head
  8. vault — a safe
  9. kid — to tease
  10. face — to point toward
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. dip — to sink
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. face — to confront
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ground — a position
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. shower — to wash

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