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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 116 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. game — a match
  4. file — a document
  5. spring — a coil
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. vault — a safe
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. rule — a law
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wake — a trail
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rule — government
  17. file — a tool
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. game — wild animals
  20. file — a line of people
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. spring — of water
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. pass — a permit

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