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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. court — of a king
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. root — the cause
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. root — of a word
  11. clip — a video
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. row — a line
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. clip — for paper
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. root — of a plant
  19. vault — a safe
  20. court — of law
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. court — for sport
  24. clip — to cut

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