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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 116 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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. game — a match
  7. kid — to tease
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. fine — all right
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. game — wild animals
  16. kid — child
  17. swing — music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. fine — high quality
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. shower — rain
  24. swing — in golf

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