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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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. sharp — with an edge
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. squash — the sport
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. spring — the season
  14. charge — in control
  15. spring — a coil
  16. charge — electricity
  17. snap — to click
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. vault — a safe
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. tube — a container
  24. charge — a price

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