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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bark — to shout
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. court — of a king
  8. last — finally
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. scale — in music
  11. last — final
  12. vault — a safe
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. shower — rain
  18. court — for sport
  19. shower — to wash
  20. court — of law
  21. kick — in football
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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