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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. squash — the sport
  8. vault — a safe
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. squash — to crush
  12. cold — an illness
  13. present — a gift
  14. degree — from a university
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. cold — not warm
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. degree — an amount
  23. stem — to come from
  24. degree — temperature

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