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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.

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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.

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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — a series
  7. chip — for betting
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cold — an illness
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. club — for golf
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — a group
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cold — not warm

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