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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. prune — to trim
  3. scale — size or range
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. scale — in music
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — the animal
  10. vault — a safe
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. key — for a lock
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. cold — not warm
  20. key — in music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bowl — to roll

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