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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 120 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bear — the animal
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bear — the animal
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. plane — a tool
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. vault — a safe
  18. kid — child
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. cold — an illness

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