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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — a skill
  4. spring — of water
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. rock — a stone
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. craft — boats
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spring — a coil
  15. fall — the season
  16. land — to come down
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rock — music
  21. spring — the season
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fall — to drop

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