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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. fine — high quality
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. march — music
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. sharp — clever
  11. shower — rain
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. spell — magic
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. spell — letters
  18. march — the month
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. spell — a short time
  22. shower — to wash
  23. march — the month
  24. wax — to grow

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