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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. staff — a stick
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. court — of law
  9. staff — employees
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — for paper
  13. staff — employees
  14. court — for sport
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — a safe
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. court — of a king

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