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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. drill — the tool
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. track — a song
  6. file — a line of people
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. file — a tool
  10. deal — to handle
  11. track — a path
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. lie — to recline
  15. drill — army training
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. track — to keep track
  18. vault — a safe
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. fork — in a road
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. file — a document
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. drill — a practice

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