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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. net — after costs
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. rush — hurry
  8. net — for catching
  9. pitch — completely
  10. swing — music
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. swing — in golf
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — a safe
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ground — the earth
  21. spring — the season
  22. net — in sport
  23. swing — to play on
  24. mouse — the animal

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