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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bank — for money
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. vault — a safe
  8. bank — for money
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. last — finally
  12. perch — the fish
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. deal — to handle
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bank — of a river
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. last — to go on
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stem — to come from

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