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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. tube — the underground
  7. prune — to trim
  8. board — a committee
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. vault — a safe
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. tube — a container
  18. board — to get on
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. prune — to trim
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. craft — boats
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. cold — not warm

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