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

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. vault — a safe
  4. spring — of water
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. land — to come down
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rush — hurry
  17. wind — moving air
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. dip — to sink
  20. land — a country
  21. spring — the season
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. branch — a division
  24. rush — to hurry

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