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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cold — not warm
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. face — to confront
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. clip — for paper
  7. vault — a safe
  8. cold — an illness
  9. face — to point toward
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — tied together
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. wind — moving air
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. bound — certain
  24. cabinet — ministers

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