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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. spring — of water
  4. hand — in cards
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. hand — help
  7. kid — to tease
  8. capital — money
  9. current — electric
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spring — the season
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. saw — the tool
  17. vault — a safe
  18. saw — the tool
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. spring — a coil
  22. capital — a city
  23. kid — child
  24. bark — of a tree

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