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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cold — not warm
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. vault — a safe
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. cold — an illness
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. stem — of a plant

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