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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. ground — the earth
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ground — crushed
  5. fall — the season
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fall — to drop
  12. ground — a position
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. kick — in football
  17. bear — the animal
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. vault — a safe
  20. fall — to drop
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. date — the fruit
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cold — not warm

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