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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. mug — to rob
  3. band — a music group
  4. vault — a safe
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mug — a face
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cold — an illness
  16. mug — a cup
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fine — high quality
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — not warm

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