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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 120 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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. fine — all right
  3. last — final
  4. bat — the animal
  5. shower — to wash
  6. last — to go on
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — a series
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. last — finally
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. vault — a safe
  23. shower — rain
  24. fine — high quality

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