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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 116 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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. vault — a safe
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. land — ground
  7. charge — a price
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. spring — the season
  10. field — a subject
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spring — a coil
  15. charge — electricity
  16. field — farmland
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. land — a country
  20. field — for sport
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. land — to come down
  23. charge — in control
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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