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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 116 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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. spring — of water
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. cell — a phone
  7. spring — the season
  8. vault — a safe
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fall — to drop
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stem — to come from
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. fall — the season
  19. wake — a trail
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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