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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 120 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. spell — a short time
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. vault — a safe
  6. spell — magic
  7. cold — not warm
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. kid — child
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mate — to breed
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. mate — a partner
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. mate — a friend
  24. spell — letters

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