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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. rock — music
  4. bound — obliged
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mine — for digging
  9. vault — a safe
  10. bound — tied together
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. bound — certain
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. last — finally
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. kid — child
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. kid — to tease
  24. branch — a division

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