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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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. pit — in a race
  3. rash — a series
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. pop — music
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pop — to visit
  11. band — a ring
  12. pop — soda
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. vault — a safe
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pit — a hole
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. scale — in music
  20. rash — hasty
  21. cold — an illness
  22. band — a music group
  23. scale — size or range
  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