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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. roll — a cake
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — to push
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. ground — a position
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. tube — the underground
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. ground — crushed
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. tube — a container
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. roll — a list
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. stem — to come from
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. ground — the earth
  24. vault — a safe

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