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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. fine — all right
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. lean — thin
  8. spring — of water
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — a safe
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. spring — a coil
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spring — the season
  23. wound — an injury
  24. lean — to bend

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