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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. vault — a safe
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — a tool
  7. stock — goods
  8. drill — a practice
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a friend
  11. chest — a box
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. drill — army training
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. stock — shares
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mate — a partner

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