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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 120 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. spring — a coil
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. drill — the tool
  5. cue — a signal
  6. drill — a practice
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. drill — army training
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. spring — of water
  15. cue — for pool
  16. kick — in football
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. capital — money
  20. spring — the season
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. chest — of your body
  23. capital — a city
  24. vault — a safe

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