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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wind — moving air
  6. game — a match
  7. vault — a safe
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. bear — the animal
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cold — an illness
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. bear — the animal
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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