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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. shower — to wash
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. spring — a coil
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. spring — the season
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. rock — music
  13. court — for sport
  14. rock — a stone
  15. vault — a safe
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. deal — to handle
  20. shower — rain
  21. spring — of water
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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