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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  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. bound — certain
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. roll — a cake
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bass — the fish
  14. vault — a safe
  15. roll — a list
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cold — an illness
  20. kick — in football
  21. bass — low music
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bass — the instrument
  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