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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. spell — magic
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. vault — a safe
  8. lie — to recline
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. spell — letters
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. spell — a short time
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cold — the Cold War

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