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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rule — a law
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. chest — a box
  5. spring — a coil
  6. net — after costs
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. spring — of water
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. net — in sport
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. vault — a safe
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bore — to tire
  21. rule — government
  22. spring — the season
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — gave birth

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