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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. mate — a partner
  3. vault — a safe
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. pass — a permit
  12. shower — rain
  13. mate — to breed
  14. shower — to wash
  15. mate — a friend
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — in a race
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. chip — to eat
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. wind — to turn a key

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