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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cold — an illness
  9. vault — a safe
  10. key — in music
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. game — a match
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fork — in a road
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. key — for a lock
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. game — wild animals

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