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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. last — to go on
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. club — for golf
  7. vault — a safe
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. hand — help
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. chest — of your body
  18. last — final
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. chest — a box
  22. hand — in cards
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. hand — part of the body

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