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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. game — a match
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. spring — a coil
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cap — a lid
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. spring — of water
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. stock — goods
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. stock — shares
  18. spring — the season
  19. lean — to bend
  20. cap — of ice
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. lean — thin
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. cap — a hat

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