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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. file — a document
  5. swing — in golf
  6. root — of a word
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. root — the cause
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. staff — employees
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — in sport
  16. file — a line of people
  17. vault — a safe
  18. staff — a stick
  19. root — of a plant
  20. swing — to play on
  21. staff — employees
  22. mine — for digging
  23. swing — music
  24. file — a tool

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