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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. last — final
  3. vault — a safe
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. plane — a tool
  6. pit — in a race
  7. shower — rain
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. pit — a hole
  16. dip — to sink
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. degree — from a university
  19. last — finally
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. last — to go on
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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