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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. shower — to wash
  3. hand — in cards
  4. spring — a coil
  5. shower — rain
  6. staff — employees
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. vault — a safe
  9. spring — of water
  10. swing — in golf
  11. hand — help
  12. staff — employees
  13. cold — not warm
  14. swing — to play on
  15. spring — the season
  16. staff — a stick
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. cold — an illness
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. hand — part of the body

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