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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. key — the most important part
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. last — to go on
  15. key — for a lock
  16. plane — a tool
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. key — in music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. vault — a safe

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