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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bear — the animal
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. pit — in a race
  6. key — in music
  7. spring — of water
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. key — for a lock
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. snap — to click
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. spring — the season
  17. bear — the animal
  18. key — the most important part
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pit — a hole
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cell — a phone

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