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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. drill — army training
  3. season — of the year
  4. cold — an illness
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. drill — the tool
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. net — after costs
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. net — in sport
  17. vault — a safe
  18. stand — to bear
  19. net — for catching
  20. drill — a practice
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. cold — not warm
  23. season — in sport
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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