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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 116 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. staff — employees
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rock — music
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. staff — employees
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. sharp — clever
  13. vault — a safe
  14. saw — the tool
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. staff — a stick
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. game — a match
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. stem — to come from
  21. rock — a stone
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stem — a stem cell

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