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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. can — to be able to
  6. vault — a safe
  7. game — wild animals
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. can — a tin
  11. game — a match
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. can — a tin
  16. kid — child
  17. chest — a box
  18. rock — music
  19. cold — an illness
  20. saw — the tool
  21. kid — to tease
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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