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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. charge — electricity
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. charge — in control
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. prune — to trim
  9. vault — a safe
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. fine — all right
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. stem — to come from
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. fine — high quality
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cold — an illness
  21. charge — a price
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

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