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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stem — to come from
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bear — the animal
  7. rock — a stone
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. kid — child
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rock — music
  14. kid — to tease
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. object — an aim
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. shower — rain
  23. cold — an illness
  24. object — a thing

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