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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: toast · kid · saw · wind · row · date · mine · vault

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. saw — the tool
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. vault — a safe
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. kid — child
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wind — moving air
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. toast — bread
  20. saw — the tool
  21. row — a line
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. date — the fruit
  24. mine — for digging

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