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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 120 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. cap — a hat
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. vault — a safe
  5. wound — an injury
  6. shower — rain
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rock — music
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cap — of ice
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wound — an injury
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rash — a series
  21. bass — the fish
  22. rash — hasty
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. bass — low music

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