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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. ground — crushed
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. track — a path
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. vault — a safe
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. present — the time now
  15. spring — the season
  16. track — a song
  17. present — there
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. spring — of water
  22. stem — to come from
  23. track — to keep track
  24. rule — to rule out

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