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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bass — low music
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. face — part of the head
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. prune — to trim
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. face — to confront
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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