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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bound — certain
  4. staff — employees
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. vault — a safe
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. hand — help
  11. bound — obliged
  12. fine — high quality
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cold — an illness
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. staff — employees
  20. chair — a leader
  21. ground — the earth
  22. fine — all right
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. staff — a stick

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