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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. shower — to wash
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. present — the time now
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bat — the animal
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. stand — to bear
  20. present — there
  21. vault — a safe
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. shower — rain
  24. stand — for spectators

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