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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. spring — of water
  3. vault — a safe
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. scale — size or range
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. court — for sport
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. row — a line
  12. kick — in football
  13. court — of law
  14. hand — help
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. row — to paddle
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. scale — in music
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. court — of a king
  24. hand — in cards

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