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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. track — a path
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cell — in biology
  7. track — a song
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. chest — a box
  10. vault — a safe
  11. track — to keep track
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. cell — a phone
  15. stem — to come from
  16. chest — of your body
  17. face — to point toward
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. face — to confront
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. face — part of the head
  24. cell — in a prison

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