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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. hand — help
  3. vault — a safe
  4. staff — a stick
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. hand — in cards
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. rash — a series
  11. spring — the season
  12. branch — a division
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. field — farmland
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. spring — of water
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. rash — hasty
  22. pit — in a race
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. branch — of a bank

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