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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. bat — the animal
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cold — an illness
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. cap — of ice
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. vault — a safe
  23. cap — a hat
  24. coach — a trainer

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