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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: row · leaves · ground · bear · saw · vault · cold · lie

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cold — not warm
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. ground — a position
  5. vault — a safe
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bear — the animal
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. lie — to recline
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. saw — the tool
  14. row — a line
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. cold — an illness
  24. row — to paddle

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