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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. ball — a great time
  15. clip — a video
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — low music
  20. clip — for paper
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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