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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. mark — a trace
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stem — to come from
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. vault — a safe
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mark — a grade
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. branch — a division
  22. wound — an injury
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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