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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. present — there
  3. present — the time now
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. kid — to tease
  6. spring — the season
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. kid — child
  10. file — a document
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. file — a tool
  14. present — a gift
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. vault — a safe
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. file — a line of people
  24. stem — of a plant

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