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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 124 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. hand — in cards
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. lie — to recline
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. game — a match
  11. bass — low music
  12. club — a group
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. game — wild animals
  16. vault — a safe
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — for dancing
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bass — the fish
  24. hand — help

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