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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. vault — a safe
  3. dip — to sink
  4. cold — an illness
  5. march — the month
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. march — music
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mine — for digging
  11. firm — a company
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. march — the month
  15. lean — to bend
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. firm — steady
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. lean — thin
  20. firm — decided
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bat — the animal
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. bat — in an idiom

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