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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. content — the amount
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. press — a publisher
  7. saw — the tool
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pound — a weight
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. capital — money
  16. press — newspapers
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. saw — the tool
  19. content — happy
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. press — to push
  22. capital — a city
  23. vault — a safe
  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