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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 120 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. vault — a safe
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. bound — certain
  6. hand — in cards
  7. suit — clothes
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. suit — to fit
  13. cold — an illness
  14. present — a gift
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bat — the animal
  17. present — there
  18. present — the time now
  19. suit — in cards
  20. bound — tied together
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hand — help
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. bat — for baseball

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