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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: press · wound · vault · club · cold · lie · bowl · saw

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. saw — the tool
  3. press — to push
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cold — not warm
  6. vault — a safe
  7. club — for golf
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. press — a publisher
  10. cold — an illness
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. club — a group
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. press — newspapers
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. lie — an untruth

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