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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. track — to keep track
  3. wind — moving air
  4. last — finally
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. last — to go on
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. track — a path
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stand — to bear
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. track — a song
  18. hand — in cards
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. mine — for digging
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. wind — moving air
  23. last — final
  24. stem — a stem cell

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