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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. firm — decided
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. firm — a company
  5. mine — for digging
  6. ground — a position
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. ground — crushed
  11. scale — size or range
  12. firm — steady
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. ground — the earth
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wound — an injury
  18. scale — in music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. prune — to trim
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. prune — to trim
  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