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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bear — the animal
  7. vault — a safe
  8. net — after costs
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. current — of water
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. net — in sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chest — a box
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — electric
  19. cold — an illness
  20. net — for catching
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. chest — of your body
  24. coach — a trainer

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