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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. fall — to drop
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. bass — the fish
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. hand — help
  9. bass — low music
  10. vault — a safe
  11. pass — a permit
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. hand — in cards
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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