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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. spring — of water
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. board — to get on
  9. kick — in football
  10. wind — moving air
  11. present — the time now
  12. vault — a safe
  13. spring — the season
  14. present — a gift
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. board — a committee
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spring — a coil
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wind — to turn a key

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