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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. vault — a safe
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. pop — music
  8. dip — to sink
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pop — to visit
  13. snap — to click
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wound — an injury
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pop — soda
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. swing — music
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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