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

Word bank: vault · straw · hide · cold · press · board · content · fall

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — newspapers
  4. fall — the season
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. cold — an illness
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. board — to get on
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. press — to push
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fall — to drop
  21. vault — a safe
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. board — a committee
  24. straw — a straw man

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