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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mate — a partner
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wax — to grow
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — hasty
  10. spring — a coil
  11. last — finally
  12. spring — of water
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. vault — a safe
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. mate — to breed
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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