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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. saw — the tool
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pop — soda
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bank — for money
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bank — for money
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bank — of a river
  16. saw — the tool
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mine — for digging
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. vault — a safe
  22. chest — a box
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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