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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stem — to come from
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. hand — in cards
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. hand — help
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chest — a box
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bat — the animal
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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