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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rest — what's left
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. vault — a safe
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. saw — the tool
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. rest — a break
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. sharp — clever
  21. rest — what's left
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. saw — the tool
  24. prune — to trim

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