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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. mine — for digging
  3. vault — a safe
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. staff — employees
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. kick — in football
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. staff — employees
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. game — a match
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. stem — to come from

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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