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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. vault — a safe
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. row — to paddle
  5. spell — letters
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. plane — a tool
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — of a river
  12. clip — for paper
  13. spell — a short time
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. clip — to cut
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. dip — to sink
  20. clip — a video
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. shower — rain
  23. spell — magic
  24. shower — to wash

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