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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. last — finally
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. last — to go on
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. stem — to come from
  16. last — final
  17. rash — a series
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bass — low music
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bass — the fish
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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