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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rush — hurry
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. mate — a friend
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. mate — to breed
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. vault — a safe
  9. mate — a partner
  10. prune — to trim
  11. kick — in football
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. spring — of water
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. hand — help
  23. prune — to trim
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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