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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. spring — the season
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. suit — in cards
  9. date — the fruit
  10. spring — a coil
  11. suit — clothes
  12. suit — to fit
  13. plane — a tool
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. field — for sport
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. stem — to come from
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. field — a subject
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wake — a trail
  22. field — farmland
  23. spring — of water
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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