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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. bass — low music
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stem — to come from
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. scale — in music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. tear — from crying
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bass — the fish
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. scale — size or range
  22. sharp — clever
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — of the year

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