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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. spring — of water
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stem — to come from
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. spring — the season
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. key — for a lock
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. key — in music
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. vault — a safe
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go on

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