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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. net — after costs
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cold — not warm
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. vault — a safe
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. mark — a trace
  24. plane — a tool

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