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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. game — a match
  3. charge — electricity
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. cap — of ice
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. stock — goods
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. charge — in control
  12. stock — shares
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cap — a lid
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. game — wild animals
  18. charge — a price
  19. cap — a hat
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. hand — in cards
  22. vault — a safe
  23. hand — part of the body
  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