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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. hand — help
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. stem — to come from
  6. net — after costs
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. hand — in cards
  10. charge — in control
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. game — a match
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. charge — electricity
  15. tear — from crying
  16. charge — a price
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. vault — a safe
  22. tear — to rip
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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