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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. mate — a friend
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. vault — a safe
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. land — a country
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. mate — to breed
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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