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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 124 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. shower — rain
  3. chest — of your body
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. spring — the season
  8. vault — a safe
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. spring — a coil
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. chest — of your body
  13. content — the amount
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. content — happy
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. shower — to wash
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. chest — a box
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. foot — a measure

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