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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. face — to confront
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. track — to keep track
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. plane — a tool
  13. track — a path
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. track — a song
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. vault — a safe
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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