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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. pop — soda
  5. spring — the season
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. march — the month
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pop — to visit
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pop — music
  12. march — the month
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. net — after costs
  15. vault — a safe
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. march — music
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. shower — to wash
  20. net — for catching
  21. shower — rain
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. spring — of water

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