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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 120 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. tear — to rip
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pop — soda
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pop — music
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. squash — the sport
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. mate — to breed
  14. tear — from crying
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pop — to visit
  19. board — a committee
  20. tear — from crying
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. squash — to crush
  24. board — to get on

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