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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — to come from
  4. kid — to tease
  5. field — farmland
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. season — in sport
  9. clip — a video
  10. craft — a skill
  11. season — of the year
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. clip — to cut
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. field — for sport
  20. craft — boats
  21. clip — for paper
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. field — a subject
  24. season — to add flavour

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