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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · wound · vault · rule · firm · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rule — government
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. rule — a law
  8. firm — a company
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. vault — a safe
  11. firm — steady
  12. cold — not warm
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. firm — decided
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. bowl — to roll

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