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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cold — not warm
  3. key — in music
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tear — from crying
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. spring — a coil
  9. board — a committee
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. branch — a division
  14. tear — from crying
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. tear — to rip
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. board — to get on
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. spring — the season
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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