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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: wake · chest · pop · vault · land · spring · mouse · suit

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. chest — a box
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. pop — soda
  9. suit — to fit
  10. spring — of water
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. pop — to visit
  13. chest — of your body
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. suit — clothes
  18. chest — of your body
  19. suit — in cards
  20. wake — a trail
  21. spring — the season
  22. land — a country
  23. vault — a safe
  24. pop — music

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