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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 120 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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. cell — in biology
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rest — what's left
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rest — a break
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. vault — a safe
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. fork — in a road
  21. hand — help
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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