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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wake — a trail
  3. vault — a safe
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. spring — the season
  8. game — a match
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. field — for sport
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spring — a coil
  17. field — farmland
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wind — moving air
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wind — moving air
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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