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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. shower — rain
  3. bulb — for light
  4. vault — a safe
  5. file — a document
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. craft — a skill
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cold — an illness
  11. file — a tool
  12. tear — to rip
  13. shower — to wash
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. tear — from crying
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — boats
  21. cold — not warm
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cold — the Cold War

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