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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. game — wild animals
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. ball — a dance
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. vault — a safe
  9. root — of a word
  10. game — a match
  11. tear — from crying
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — the most important part
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. tear — from crying
  16. net — in sport
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. net — after costs
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. key — in music
  22. tear — to rip
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. ball — a great time

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