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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. march — the month
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. spell — a short time
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. fine — all right
  9. vault — a safe
  10. spell — magic
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. chest — of your body
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. spell — letters
  22. fine — high quality
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — in football

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