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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cold — an illness
  3. scale — size or range
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. scale — in music
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cold — not warm
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. capital — money
  17. lean — thin
  18. date — the fruit
  19. vault — a safe
  20. stand — to bear
  21. lean — to bend
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. capital — a city

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