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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kick — in football
  4. vault — a safe
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. shower — to wash
  7. land — a country
  8. face — part of the head
  9. land — ground
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. shower — rain
  16. face — to confront
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. land — to come down
  20. face — to point toward
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. hand — help

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