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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 120 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cold — an illness
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lean — thin
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. lean — to bend
  12. face — to confront
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cold — not warm
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. vault — a safe
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. perch — the fish

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