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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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Word bank
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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: bear · wake · cold · present · chest · vault

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. present — the time now
  4. chest — of your body
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cold — not warm
  9. present — a gift
  10. chest — a box
  11. bear — the animal
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bear — the animal

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