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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. tube — a container
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. ball — a dance
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. ball — a great time
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. game — a match
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bark — to shout
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. tube — the underground
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bat — for baseball

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