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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 · wound · pitch · wave · last · cold · chip · mate

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. cold — not warm
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pitch — completely
  9. chip — to eat
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. last — to go on
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. last — final
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — a partner
  19. last — finally
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. vault — a safe
  24. chip — for betting

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