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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. net — in sport
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cold — an illness
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. prune — to trim
  14. net — after costs
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. cold — not warm
  18. net — for catching
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. vault — a safe
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — on your feet

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