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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. band — a music group
  3. vault — a safe
  4. date — the fruit
  5. drill — a practice
  6. stock — shares
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cold — an illness
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — goods
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. press — newspapers
  17. band — a ring
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. kick — in football
  20. cold — not warm
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — the tool
  23. press — to push
  24. band — a rubber band

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