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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 120 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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. spring — of water
  4. last — to go on
  5. cue — a signal
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. ground — crushed
  8. season — in sport
  9. bore — to tire
  10. spring — the season
  11. ground — a position
  12. cue — for pool
  13. season — of the year
  14. bore — to drill
  15. firm — decided
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. firm — steady
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — a safe
  20. last — final
  21. ground — the earth
  22. firm — a company
  23. spring — a coil
  24. last — finally

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