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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. track — a path
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. drill — the tool
  7. cold — not warm
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stem — to come from
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. drill — army training
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a song
  18. prune — to trim
  19. drill — a practice
  20. rash — a series
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. vault — a safe

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