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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 116 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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fall — to drop
  7. court — of law
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. court — for sport
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. capital — money
  12. wind — moving air
  13. capital — a city
  14. fall — the season
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cold — not warm
  20. vault — a safe
  21. court — of a king
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. hide — animal skin

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