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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. file — a line of people
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. chip — for betting
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. file — a tool
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. file — a document
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pit — a hole
  14. chip — to eat
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. row — to paddle
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. cell — a phone
  20. pit — in a race
  21. vault — a safe
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. cell — in biology
  24. row — a line

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