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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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Word bank
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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. vault — a safe
  5. wound — an injury
  6. dip — to sink
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cell — a phone
  9. ground — a position
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ground — the earth
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cell — in biology
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wound — an injury

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