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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. sharp — clever
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cell — in biology
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cell — a phone
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. game — a match
  13. spring — the season
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. field — farmland
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. spring — a coil
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. craft — a skill
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. craft — boats
  24. vault — a safe

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