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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pop — to visit
  3. last — finally
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. spring — of water
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. capital — money
  13. pop — soda
  14. vault — a safe
  15. capital — a city
  16. rush — hurry
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. spring — a coil
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. pop — 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