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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 120 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cold — not warm
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. season — in sport
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. season — of the year
  9. rock — a stone
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. root — of a word
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. root — the cause
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. root — of a plant
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mine — for digging

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