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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. hand — help
  5. branch — a division
  6. last — to go on
  7. bat — the animal
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. prune — to trim
  10. hand — in cards
  11. prune — to trim
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. last — finally
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. drill — the tool
  20. last — final
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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