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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. vault — a safe
  3. firm — a company
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. firm — decided
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. rule — a law
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. firm — steady
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. perch — the fish
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. rule — government
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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