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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · tube · spring · dip · saw · vault · season · bark

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. saw — the tool
  3. season — in sport
  4. dip — to sink
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. season — of the year
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bark — to shout
  10. vault — a safe
  11. tube — a container
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. spring — a coil
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — the season
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. spring — of water

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