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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. spring — of water
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bear — the animal
  15. spring — the season
  16. bear — the animal
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bear — to put up with

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