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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mine — for digging
  7. tube — a container
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. row — a line
  14. present — there
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. present — a gift
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. vault — a safe
  21. tube — the underground
  22. present — the time now
  23. row — to paddle
  24. mine — an explosive

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