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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. key — for a lock
  6. chest — of your body
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. spring — the season
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — happy
  12. vault — a safe
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — in music
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. chest — a box
  23. spring — a coil
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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