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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 116 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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. last — to go on
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ground — a position
  12. cold — not warm
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ball — a great time
  15. cold — an illness
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. last — finally
  18. scale — in music
  19. ground — crushed
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. last — final
  24. ball — a dance

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