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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. spring — the season
  5. rash — a series
  6. court — of law
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. roll — a list
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. toast — bread
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. court — of a king
  15. rash — hasty
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. pound — a weight
  18. roll — a cake
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. court — for sport
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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