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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. vault — a safe
  5. row — a line
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wind — moving air
  10. track — a song
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wake — a trail
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cold — not warm
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cold — an illness
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wind — to turn a key

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