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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. stem — to come from
  5. spell — a short time
  6. capital — money
  7. shower — rain
  8. ground — a position
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. spell — magic
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. club — for golf
  14. ground — crushed
  15. spell — letters
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for dancing
  18. capital — a city
  19. ground — the earth
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — help
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. stem — of a plant

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