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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. hand — help
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. pitch — completely
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. land — a country
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. vault — a safe
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cold — not warm
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. hand — in cards

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