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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. vault — a safe
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cap — a hat
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. row — to paddle
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. mine — for digging
  13. hand — help
  14. spring — the season
  15. scale — size or range
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. scale — in music
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wake — a trail
  20. row — a line
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. spring — of water
  23. cap — a lid
  24. mine — belonging to me

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