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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. land — ground
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pop — soda
  6. firm — a company
  7. firm — decided
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cap — a hat
  10. land — to come down
  11. vault — a safe
  12. land — a country
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. firm — steady
  18. pop — music
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. bat — for baseball

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