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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cold — an illness
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. board — to get on
  6. vault — a safe
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. fall — the season
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pound — a weight
  14. fall — to drop
  15. capital — a city
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. capital — money
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. board — a committee
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cold — not warm
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. board — a flat piece

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