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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. craft — boats
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bat — the animal
  16. vault — a safe
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hand — help
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pound — a weight
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. pound — for dogs

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