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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. last — final
  6. vault — a safe
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. last — finally
  9. face — part of the head
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. shower — to wash
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. face — to confront
  14. game — a match
  15. craft — a skill
  16. board — a committee
  17. game — wild animals
  18. face — to point toward
  19. craft — boats
  20. kid — to tease
  21. last — to go on
  22. shower — rain
  23. board — to get on
  24. kid — child

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