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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. pit — a hole
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. vault — a safe
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bound — tied together
  9. shower — rain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cold — an illness
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. cold — not warm
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. shower — to wash
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pit — in a race
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. kick — in football

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