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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. spring — a coil
  10. tube — a container
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. root — of a word
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. root — the cause
  17. wind — moving air
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cold — not warm
  20. tube — the underground
  21. root — of a plant
  22. vault — a safe
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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