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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kid — to tease
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. content — happy
  10. season — of the year
  11. vault — a safe
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pop — to visit
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. content — the amount
  21. season — in sport
  22. kid — child
  23. stem — to come from
  24. pop — music

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