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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. rock — music
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. file — a tool
  6. vault — a safe
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. rock — a stone
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. fall — to drop
  14. file — a document
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wake — a trail
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — magic
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. spell — a short time
  23. fall — the season
  24. file — a line of people

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