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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. net — for catching
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fork — in a road
  7. wound — an injury
  8. current — electric
  9. current — of water
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. current — happening now
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. vault — a safe
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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