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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. roll — a list
  11. mine — for digging
  12. vault — a safe
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fine — all right
  16. roll — a cake
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. deal — to handle

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