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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. vault — a safe
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. cold — not warm
  6. scale — in music
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pound — a weight
  12. ground — a position
  13. field — a subject
  14. stock — goods
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. stem — to come from
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. stock — shares
  21. field — for sport
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. field — farmland

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