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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. vault — a safe
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. scale — in music
  8. land — ground
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stem — to come from
  12. present — the time now
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. land — a country
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. ground — the earth
  18. land — to come down
  19. ground — a position
  20. present — there
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. scale — size or range

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