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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.

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: stem · drill · content · temple · plane · mine · vault · spring

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. drill — the tool
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. content — the amount
  6. spring — the season
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. plane — a tool
  10. spring — a coil
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. spring — of water
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. drill — army training
  16. vault — a safe
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. content — happy
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. mine — for digging
  23. stem — to come from
  24. drill — a practice

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