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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. hand — help
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bulb — for light
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spring — the season
  10. stem — to come from
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. stock — shares
  14. shower — rain
  15. stock — goods
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bulb — for light
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. spring — of water
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hand — in cards
  23. vault — a safe
  24. bulb — of a plant

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