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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. key — the most important part
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. date — the fruit
  8. spell — letters
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. squash — to crush
  11. saw — the tool
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wind — moving air
  15. saw — the tool
  16. vault — a safe
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. key — for a lock
  19. squash — the sport
  20. spell — magic
  21. key — in music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. spell — a short time
  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