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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. season — in sport
  6. bat — the animal
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. deal — to handle
  12. kid — to tease
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. dip — to sink
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. vault — a safe
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. season — of the year
  23. spell — letters
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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