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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. can — to be able to
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. can — a tin
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. spell — magic
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. can — a tin
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. ball — a dance
  16. spell — letters
  17. ball — a great time
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. spell — a short time
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. march — music

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