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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. tube — a container
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. row — to paddle
  10. present — there
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. present — the time now
  18. vault — a safe
  19. present — a gift
  20. mine — for digging
  21. row — a line
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. date — the fruit
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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