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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. vault — a safe
  3. cold — an illness
  4. march — the month
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. club — for dancing
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. club — for golf
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. club — a group

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