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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: mark · bear · tube · vault · wound · cold · bowl · cell

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a grade
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tube — the underground
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cold — not warm
  20. tube — a container
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wound — an injury
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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