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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 124 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. craft — boats
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. file — a document
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. spell — letters
  8. court — of a king
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. spell — magic
  17. court — of law
  18. spell — a short time
  19. craft — a skill
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. stem — to come from
  24. vault — a safe

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