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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. file — a document
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. file — a line of people
  8. stem — to come from
  9. vault — a safe
  10. land — to come down
  11. file — a tool
  12. degree — temperature
  13. land — ground
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. degree — from a university
  18. land — a country

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