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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. track — a path
  9. spring — a coil
  10. vault — a safe
  11. dip — to sink
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. track — a song
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. saw — the tool
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. track — to keep track
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. dip — to dunk

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