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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. present — a gift
  3. row — a line
  4. season — of the year
  5. face — to confront
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. present — the time now
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. drill — the tool
  11. face — to point toward
  12. drill — a practice
  13. present — there
  14. face — part of the head
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. season — in sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. row — to paddle
  23. drill — army training
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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