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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. board — to get on
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cell — a phone
  7. perch — the fish
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. vault — a safe
  17. board — a committee
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cell — in biology
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cold — not warm
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. cell — in a prison

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