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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 120 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: bore · field · staff · tube · chest · vault · mug · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. vault — a safe
  3. staff — employees
  4. field — farmland
  5. spring — the season
  6. mug — a cup
  7. field — a subject
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bore — to drill
  10. tube — the underground
  11. mug — to rob
  12. spring — of water
  13. chest — a box
  14. tube — a container
  15. field — for sport
  16. mug — a face
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. chest — of your body
  20. staff — employees
  21. bore — to tire
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. staff — a stick

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