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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. court — of a king
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mark — a trace
  5. stem — to come from
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. capital — a city
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. mark — a grade
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. vault — a safe
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. court — for sport
  21. capital — money
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. court — of law

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