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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bear · bowl · mug · last · cell · rest · game · vault

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. last — finally
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. last — final
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. game — a match
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mug — to rob
  18. rest — a break
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. mug — a face
  21. cell — a phone
  22. rest — what's left
  23. vault — a safe
  24. rest — what's left

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