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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 water is too ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. cap — a hat
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. last — final
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rash — a series
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cold — an illness
  17. vault — a safe
  18. stand — to bear
  19. rash — hasty
  20. branch — a division
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. cap — a lid
  24. branch — of a tree

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