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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the sport
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. present — the time now
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bass — low music
  10. shower — to wash
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. wax — to grow
  14. file — a line of people
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. present — a gift
  18. vault — a safe
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bass — the fish
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. shower — rain
  24. present — there

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