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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 120 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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. last — final
  3. chest — of your body
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. mug — a cup
  6. spring — the season
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chest — a box
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mug — to rob
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. spring — of water
  14. prune — to trim
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. last — to go on
  19. rush — hurry
  20. mug — a face
  21. last — finally
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. prune — to trim

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