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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. last — final
  3. swing — music
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. swing — in golf
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. swing — to play on
  10. last — finally
  11. bear — the animal
  12. sharp — clever
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. last — to go on
  17. vault — a safe
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mine — for digging
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. cold — the Cold War

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