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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: club · sharp · chest · roll · mate · date · wind · vault

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. chest — of your body
  3. club — for dancing
  4. date — the fruit
  5. club — a group
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. chest — a box
  8. roll — a list
  9. mate — a friend
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. mate — a partner
  12. chest — of your body
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. mate — to breed
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. wind — moving air
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. sharp — clever
  21. vault — a safe
  22. club — for golf
  23. roll — a cake
  24. date — on the calendar

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