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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. vault — a safe
  3. court — of a king
  4. spring — the season
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. court — of law
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. can — to be able to
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. court — for sport
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. spring — of water
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. snap — to click
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. spring — a coil

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