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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. spring — the season
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. spring — a coil
  6. root — of a word
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. drill — army training
  9. vault — a safe
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. club — for golf
  14. drill — the tool
  15. club — for dancing
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. root — the cause
  18. spring — of water
  19. fine — all right
  20. root — of a plant
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wound — an injury
  23. club — a group
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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