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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 water is too ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fall — the season
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. vault — a safe
  7. fall — to drop
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. rash — a series
  10. cell — a phone
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — hasty
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cell — in biology
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. stand — to bear
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — to push
  24. press — newspapers

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