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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. scale — size or range
  4. mug — a cup
  5. spring — the season
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. vault — a safe
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. cue — a hint
  10. spring — of water
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mug — a face
  13. mug — to rob
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. scale — in music
  16. cold — not warm
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. spring — a coil
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bark — to shout

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