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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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468
Word bank
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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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 — of water
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. file — a document
  4. chest — a box
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. file — a tool
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. spring — a coil
  12. vault — a safe
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. spring — the season
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. chest — of your body
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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