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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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 — an arched ceiling
  2. vault — a safe
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. cold — an illness
  9. squash — the sport
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. march — the month
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. cold — not warm
  21. march — the month
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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