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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bore — to drill
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. key — the most important part
  6. spell — letters
  7. mine — for digging
  8. fork — in a road
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. spring — the season
  11. vault — a safe
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cell — in biology
  16. spell — magic
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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