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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. vault — a safe
  8. suit — to fit
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cold — an illness
  11. suit — in cards
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pop — soda
  14. fall — to drop
  15. suit — clothes
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fall — the season
  19. pop — to visit
  20. land — ground
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pop — music
  23. wind — moving air
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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