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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. vault — a safe
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. field — a subject
  15. shower — rain
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. shower — to wash
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. cold — an illness

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