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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. hand — help
  3. firm — decided
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. land — to come down
  10. cap — of ice
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — a company
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. vault — a safe
  19. mine — for digging
  20. land — a country
  21. cap — a hat
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. deal — to handle
  24. land — ground

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