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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. fine — high quality
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. fine — all right
  5. vault — a safe
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. season — of the year
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. season — in sport
  12. band — a music group
  13. cold — not warm
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. band — a ring

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