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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. current — electric
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. hand — help
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. current — happening now
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spring — the season
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. current — of water
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. vault — a safe

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