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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. file — a tool
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. file — a line of people
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. file — a document
  10. wax — to grow
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chest — a box
  13. vault — a safe
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bark — to shout
  17. chest — of your body
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. game — a match
  20. bass — the fish
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bass — low music
  24. clip — a video

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