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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. vault — a safe
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. rash — a series
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. mine — for digging
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. chest — a box
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cold — not warm
  14. saw — the tool
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. cue — a signal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. saw — the tool

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