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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mate — a partner
  3. vault — a safe
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. cap — of ice
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. press — to push
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. cap — a lid
  11. game — wild animals
  12. kid — child
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. mate — a friend
  18. press — a publisher
  19. cap — a hat
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. press — newspapers
  23. mine — for digging
  24. game — a match

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