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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. last — final
  5. ball — a great time
  6. last — to go on
  7. bank — for money
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. ball — a dance
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cell — a phone
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. bank — for money
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bank — of a river
  21. last — finally
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. pitcher — a jug

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