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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mine — for digging
  3. drill — a practice
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. drill — the tool
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. drill — army training
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cold — an illness
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. vault — a safe
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. plane — a tool

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