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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. mine — for digging
  4. spring — the season
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. content — happy
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ground — crushed
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. content — the amount
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — to drill

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