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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. can — a tin
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bore — to tire
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. spring — a coil
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. vault — a safe
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. spring — of water
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. can — a tin
  20. shower — rain
  21. bore — to drill
  22. can — to be able to
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. trunk — of a tree

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