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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. spell — letters
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stem — to come from
  6. spell — a short time
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. track — a song
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. track — a path
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — government
  20. spell — magic
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. track — to keep track
  24. patient — a sick person

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