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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. vault — a safe
  8. fall — the season
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. fall — to drop
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — to breed
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. clip — a video
  21. mate — a partner
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bowl — a dish

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