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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. kid — to tease
  3. vault — a safe
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. last — finally
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wake — a trail
  13. kid — child
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bass — the fish
  16. mark — a trace
  17. last — final
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. mark — a grade
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bass — low music
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. last — to go on
  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