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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. swing — to play on
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. chip — for betting
  8. swing — music
  9. chip — to eat
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cold — not warm
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. mate — a friend
  16. swing — in golf
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mate — to breed
  21. deal — to handle
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — a division
  24. deal — a big deal

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