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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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Word bank
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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chair — a leader
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. craft — a skill
  7. vault — a safe
  8. craft — boats
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. band — a ring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. band — a music group
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ruler — for measuring

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