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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 124 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. firm — decided
  3. mate — a partner
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. cold — not warm
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. staff — employees
  13. tube — a container
  14. firm — steady
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mate — to breed
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. firm — a company
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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