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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bore — to tire
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. scale — in music
  7. staff — a stick
  8. sharp — clever
  9. squash — the sport
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bore — to drill
  15. vault — a safe
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. scale — size or range
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. prune — to trim
  23. squash — to crush
  24. scale — for weighing

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