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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ground — the earth
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. ball — a great time
  9. cold — not warm
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. stem — to come from
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ground — a position
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. vault — a safe
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. ground — crushed
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. bat — the animal

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