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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: march · spring · can · vault · cold · wound · safe · mouse

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spring — of water
  5. march — music
  6. vault — a safe
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. can — a tin
  12. wound — an injury
  13. march — the month
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. can — to be able to
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. can — a tin
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. spring — a coil
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. spring — the season

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