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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. staff — a stick
  3. spring — of water
  4. vault — a safe
  5. staff — employees
  6. ball — a dance
  7. staff — employees
  8. season — of the year
  9. ball — a great time
  10. spring — a coil
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. spring — the season
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. fall — to drop
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — high quality
  23. season — in sport
  24. clip — to cut

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