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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. spring — the season
  3. bear — the animal
  4. vault — a safe
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cap — a lid
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cap — a hat
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. file — a line of people
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bear — the animal
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. cap — of ice
  21. spring — of water
  22. chair — a leader
  23. spring — a coil
  24. temple — side of the head

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