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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. mate — a partner
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. club — a group
  6. cold — not warm
  7. club — for golf
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rash — hasty
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mate — a friend
  12. cold — an illness
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. mate — to breed
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. vault — a safe
  20. shower — to wash
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. club — for dancing
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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