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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cold — an illness
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. band — a music group
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ground — the earth
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. degree — an amount
  15. stand — to bear
  16. band — a ring
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. ground — crushed
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cold — not warm
  24. ground — a position

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