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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. spring — of water
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. drill — army training
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. cap — a hat
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — the underground
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. spring — the season
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. drill — a practice
  15. spring — a coil
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — a safe
  18. pitch — completely
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. cap — a lid
  23. rash — a series
  24. scale — for weighing

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