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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pitcher · board · cold · last · vault · net · deal · scale

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. net — after costs
  6. last — final
  7. net — for catching
  8. vault — a safe
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. net — in sport
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. deal — to handle
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. scale — in music
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — to get on
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. last — to go on
  21. board — a committee
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. last — finally
  24. scale — size or range

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