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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. board — a committee
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. mate — a partner
  10. shower — rain
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. shower — to wash
  13. board — to get on
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. hand — in cards
  16. vault — a safe
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mate — a friend
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. hand — help
  23. file — a document
  24. mate — to breed

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