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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. spring — the season
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. land — to come down
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cell — a phone
  8. land — ground
  9. rock — a stone
  10. land — a country
  11. snap — to click
  12. vault — a safe
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. spring — of water
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cell — in biology

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