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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. present — there
  3. present — a gift
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. charge — electricity
  6. vault — a safe
  7. march — the month
  8. stem — to come from
  9. charge — in control
  10. charge — a price
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. march — music
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. drill — army training
  15. degree — temperature
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. present — the time now

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