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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cap — of ice
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. file — a document
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cap — a lid
  13. field — farmland
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. file — a tool
  17. vault — a safe
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cap — a hat
  21. spring — of water
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. straw — a straw man

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