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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 water is too ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pass — a permit
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cold — an illness
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wax — to grow
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. squash — the vegetable

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