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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. present — there
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. vault — a safe
  11. mine — for digging
  12. spring — of water
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. present — a gift
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mark — a grade
  20. present — the time now
  21. mark — a trace
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your 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