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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. object — a thing
  3. rock — a stone
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — a division
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. object — to protest
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. cold — not warm
  10. vault — a safe
  11. rock — music
  12. spring — of water
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. spring — the season
  15. object — an aim
  16. season — of the year
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rash — hasty
  20. cold — an illness
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — in sport
  23. rash — a series
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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