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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. band — a ring
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. band — a music group
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. chest — of your body
  15. vault — a safe
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. firm — a company
  18. chest — a box
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. firm — steady
  21. firm — decided
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cold — not warm
  24. chest — of your body

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