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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. firm — decided
  3. fall — the season
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. firm — steady
  7. content — the amount
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. content — happy
  13. file — a document
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stem — to come from
  18. fall — to drop
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. vault — a safe
  21. firm — a company
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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