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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. spell — magic
  4. bank — for money
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bat — the animal
  8. stem — to come from
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cap — a hat
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. spell — letters
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. spell — a short time
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bank — of a river
  19. chip — for betting
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. vault — a safe
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bank — for money
  24. cold — an illness

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