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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. squash — to crush
  8. swing — music
  9. stem — to come from
  10. craft — boats
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. squash — the sport
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. mate — a partner
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — a safe
  21. mate — to breed
  22. pop — to visit
  23. craft — a skill
  24. pop — music

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