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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. club — for golf
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cold — an illness
  8. vault — a safe
  9. game — wild animals
  10. club — for dancing
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. scale — in music
  15. game — a match
  16. club — a group
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. cold — not warm
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. scale — size or range

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