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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  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. hand — help
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fine — all right
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. fine — high quality
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. stem — to come from
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. rush — hurry
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — the amount
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. content — happy
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. vault — a safe
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rush — a thrill
  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