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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. fall — the season
  11. court — for sport
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. court — of law
  14. bat — the animal
  15. spring — the season
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. fall — to drop
  18. spring — of water
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. spring — a coil
  21. court — of a king
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bark — to shout
  24. mouse — for a computer

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