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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wound — an injury
  5. land — a country
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wound — an injury
  8. land — to come down
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. shower — rain
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. shower — to wash
  14. land — ground
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. press — newspapers
  18. vault — a safe
  19. press — to push
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. spring — of water
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. press — a publisher

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