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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. cap — a hat
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. cap — of ice
  12. clip — to cut
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. cap — a lid
  15. vault — a safe
  16. spring — a coil
  17. stem — to come from
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. spring — the season
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. kid — child

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