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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fall — to drop
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. kick — in football
  9. cold — an illness
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. mark — a grade
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. vault — a safe
  17. mark — a trace
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. date — the fruit
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. fall — the season
  24. date — on the calendar

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