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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. leaves — lets stay
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. mate — to breed
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stem — to come from
  7. wound — an injury
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mate — a partner
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. shower — to wash
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. shower — rain
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mate — a friend
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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