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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. scale — in music
  4. hand — help
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. hand — in cards
  8. vault — a safe
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bank — for money
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stem — a stem cell

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