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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. net — in sport
  4. wind — moving air
  5. net — after costs
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. spell — magic
  8. row — a line
  9. net — for catching
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. cue — a hint
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cue — for pool
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. cue — a signal
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. spell — a short time
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. row — to paddle
  22. game — a match
  23. spell — letters
  24. arm — a part of something

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