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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. row — a line
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. spring — a coil
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. vault — a safe
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. file — a line of people
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. file — a tool
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. row — to paddle
  19. spring — of water
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. spring — the season
  23. file — a document
  24. bear — the 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