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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. spring — of water
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. vault — a safe
  5. mug — to rob
  6. cap — a lid
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. mug — a cup
  9. scale — size or range
  10. march — the month
  11. cap — a hat
  12. march — the month
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. march — music
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. spring — a coil
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cap — of ice
  19. row — a line
  20. mug — a face
  21. spring — the season
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. row — to paddle

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