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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. board — a committee
  5. spring — a coil
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. board — to get on
  8. court — of a king
  9. spring — the season
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. court — for sport
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. band — a music group
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. band — a ring
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. court — of law
  21. spring — of water
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. board — a flat piece

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