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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pop — to visit
  4. mine — for digging
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. spring — a coil
  7. swing — music
  8. pop — soda
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. kick — in football
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pop — music
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. lie — to recline
  17. vault — a safe
  18. swing — to play on
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. swing — in golf
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. hand — part of the body

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