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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. row — a line
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. vault — a safe
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. cold — an illness
  15. branch — a division
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. ball — a dance

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