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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. wake — a trail
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. fall — to drop
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. key — in music
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fall — the season
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. vault — a safe
  16. key — the most important part
  17. bat — the animal
  18. row — a line
  19. fall — to drop
  20. row — to paddle
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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