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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. vault — a safe
  3. wind — moving air
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. plane — a tool
  14. row — to paddle
  15. scale — in music
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. hand — help

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