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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. bound — certain
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. tube — a container
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. drill — army training
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. tube — the underground
  20. vault — a safe
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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