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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. current — electric
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mate — to breed
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. current — happening now
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wind — moving air
  14. current — of water
  15. ground — a position
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cell — a phone
  18. ground — the earth
  19. cell — in biology
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fall — the season
  24. cell — in a prison

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