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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. march — the month
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. deal — to handle
  6. spring — the season
  7. track — to keep track
  8. vault — a safe
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. saw — the tool
  14. track — a song
  15. shower — rain
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. track — a path
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. saw — the tool
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — the Cold War

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