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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. staff — a stick
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. row — to paddle
  11. staff — employees
  12. roll — a list
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mine — for digging
  17. row — a line
  18. staff — employees
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. hand — help
  22. sharp — clever
  23. roll — a cake
  24. sharp — with an edge

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