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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. spell — letters
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rush — hurry
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cold — an illness
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — a short time
  11. club — for golf
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. vault — a safe
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. spring — of water
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. spring — the season
  24. club — a group

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