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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 120 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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. shower — rain
  4. pit — in a race
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. pit — a hole
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. shower — to wash
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cold — an illness
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. tube — the underground
  17. chest — of your body
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. tube — a container
  22. chest — a box
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. cold — the Cold War

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