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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. spring — the season
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. vault — a safe
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tear — to rip
  22. dip — to sink
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. nail — for a hammer

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