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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. spring — the season
  3. track — a path
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. snap — to click
  7. spring — a coil
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a song
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. vault — a safe
  12. drill — the tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. drill — army training
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. drill — a practice
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. spring — of water
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stand — to bear
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. stand — for spectators

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