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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: deal · kid · cold · vault · fall · bass · face · jam

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. deal — to handle
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. cold — an illness
  5. face — part of the head
  6. vault — a safe
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. cold — not warm
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bass — low music
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fall — to drop
  16. face — to confront
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. kid — child
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bass — the fish

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