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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. lie — to recline
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mine — for digging
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chest — a box
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fine — high quality
  18. board — a committee
  19. cold — an illness
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — to get on
  24. vault — a safe

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