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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — music
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. vault — a safe
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tear — from crying
  14. season — in sport
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cell — a phone
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. tear — to rip
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rock — a stone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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