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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. cap — of ice
  3. spring — of water
  4. staff — a stick
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — a safe
  8. lean — to bend
  9. cap — a hat
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. land — ground
  12. scale — size or range
  13. staff — employees
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cap — a lid
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. scale — in music
  20. land — a country
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. land — to come down
  24. staff — employees

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