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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. cap — a lid
  3. scale — in music
  4. tear — to rip
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. field — farmland
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. field — a subject
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cap — of ice
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cap — a hat
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. tear — from crying
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. field — for sport
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — a safe
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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