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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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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. stem — to come from
  3. field — for sport
  4. key — for a lock
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. key — the most important part
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wax — to grow
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pass — a permit
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. field — farmland
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. key — in music
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. ball — a great time
  22. vault — a safe
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. field — a subject

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