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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cue — a signal
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. tube — a container
  6. game — a match
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. cue — a hint
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. vault — a safe
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. cue — for pool
  13. spring — the season
  14. tube — the underground
  15. swing — to play on
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. spring — a coil
  18. fall — the season
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. swing — in golf
  23. game — wild animals
  24. swing — music

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