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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: vault · wake · bay · staff · bass · wind · cold · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bass — the fish
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wind — moving air
  7. vault — a safe
  8. wake — a trail
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. staff — employees
  16. bass — low music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. staff — employees
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. staff — a stick
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. cold — an illness

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