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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. dip — a sauce
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. branch — a division
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. stem — to come from
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. kid — child
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pit — a hole
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. pit — in a race
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  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