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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. spring — a coil
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. mug — to rob
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mug — a face
  11. spring — the season
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. spring — of water
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. mug — a cup
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. prune — to trim
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. cold — an illness

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