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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. shower — rain
  3. vault — a safe
  4. shower — to wash
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wind — moving air
  10. last — final
  11. firm — a company
  12. last — to go on
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. firm — steady
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. firm — decided
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. kid — child
  24. last — finally

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