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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. vault — a safe
  5. row — to paddle
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ball — a great time
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. spring — a coil
  12. march — music
  13. row — a line
  14. stem — to come from
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. march — the month
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. march — the month
  24. stem — a stem cell

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