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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spring — the season
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. date — the fruit
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. spring — a coil
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. spring — of water
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. cold — an illness
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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