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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 stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cold — not warm
  4. season — of the year
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cold — an illness
  7. kid — child
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. tube — a container
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. vault — a safe
  18. firm — a company
  19. land — a country
  20. kid — to tease
  21. season — in sport
  22. firm — decided
  23. tube — the underground
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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