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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.

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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. object — an aim
  5. pound — a weight
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — a law
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. object — to protest
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. vault — a safe
  22. object — a thing
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pound — to hit hard

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