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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. vault — a safe
  3. bound — obliged
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bound — certain
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. rule — government
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rule — a law
  12. key — for a lock
  13. bound — tied together
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. field — a subject
  16. key — in music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. field — farmland
  19. key — the most important part
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. field — for sport
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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