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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. hand — in cards
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. field — a subject
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. shower — to wash
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. hand — help
  12. field — for sport
  13. lie — to recline
  14. vault — a safe
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bass — low music
  17. shower — rain
  18. bass — the fish
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. spring — of water
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. field — farmland
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. calf — a young animal

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