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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. land — to come down
  5. ground — a position
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. ground — the earth
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rock — a stone
  11. land — ground
  12. cell — a phone
  13. land — a country
  14. net — in sport
  15. spring — of water
  16. snap — to click
  17. cell — in biology
  18. vault — a safe
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rock — music
  23. spring — the season
  24. net — for catching

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