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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. cold — not warm
  6. vault — a safe
  7. swing — to play on
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — a partner
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. row — a line
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. swing — in golf
  19. mate — to breed
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. swing — music
  23. row — to paddle
  24. last — final

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