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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. ground — the earth
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. press — to push
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cold — an illness
  7. game — wild animals
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. roll — a cake
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. press — newspapers
  14. drill — a practice
  15. roll — a list
  16. press — a publisher
  17. scale — size or range
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. cold — not warm
  20. scale — in music
  21. vault — a safe
  22. ground — a position
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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