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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. roll — a cake
  4. roll — a list
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — a law
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. date — the fruit
  15. mine — for digging
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. vault — a safe
  24. wound — an injury

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