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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · bear · arm · vault · wind · ground · spring · date

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. ground — the earth
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. date — the fruit
  8. ground — a position
  9. game — wild animals
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wind — moving air
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bear — the animal
  15. vault — a safe
  16. spring — of water
  17. game — a match
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. ground — crushed
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. date — on the calendar

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