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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 116 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cold — an illness
  3. ground — the earth
  4. vault — a safe
  5. ground — a position
  6. firm — a company
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. shower — rain
  9. firm — decided
  10. present — a gift
  11. chair — a leader
  12. shower — to wash
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. firm — steady
  15. present — the time now
  16. ground — crushed
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. present — there
  20. cold — not warm
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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