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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 120 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  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. pass — to succeed
  2. vault — a safe
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. face — part of the head
  6. pass — a permit
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chip — to eat
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. face — to confront
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. face — to point toward
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. rash — a series
  17. cold — an illness
  18. band — a ring
  19. rash — hasty
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. band — a music group
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  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