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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. fine — all right
  3. spell — magic
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. last — final
  7. tear — to rip
  8. vault — a safe
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. last — to go on
  14. bat — the animal
  15. fine — high quality
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spell — letters
  18. last — finally
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. tear — from crying

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