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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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 — an arched ceiling
  2. vault — a safe
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — a partner
  7. drill — army training
  8. track — to keep track
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. last — finally
  11. track — a song
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. drill — a practice
  14. mate — to breed
  15. drill — the tool
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wind — moving air
  20. last — to go on
  21. wind — moving air
  22. last — final
  23. track — a path
  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