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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: vault · plane · pitch · arm · toast · cold · pop · lie

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. vault — a safe
  4. toast — bread
  5. plane — a tool
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. cold — an illness
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pop — to visit
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. pop — music
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. lie — to recline
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. cold — not warm
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. cold — the Cold War

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