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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. court — for sport
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. kid — to tease
  6. staff — employees
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. object — an aim
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — to protest
  13. tube — a container
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cold — not warm
  17. staff — employees
  18. vault — a safe
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cold — an illness
  21. object — a thing
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. kid — child

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