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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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: lie · scale · straw · patient · cold · vault · spring · rush

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. lie — to recline
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cold — not warm
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. spring — a coil
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. rush — hurry
  9. scale — in music
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. cold — an illness
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. scale — size or range

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