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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 116 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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. mug — a cup
  2. vault — a safe
  3. row — a line
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. mug — a face
  6. cell — in biology
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. mug — to rob
  9. march — the month
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cell — a phone
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. row — to paddle
  18. march — the month
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cap — a hat
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bat — for baseball
  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