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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. net — for catching
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. track — a song
  7. spring — the season
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cue — a hint
  11. race — the arms race
  12. track — a path
  13. race — a contest
  14. cue — a signal
  15. vault — a safe
  16. drill — a practice
  17. net — in sport
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. drill — army training
  20. spring — a coil
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. net — after costs
  23. race — humankind
  24. drill — the tool

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