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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. tube — the underground
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. vault — a safe
  5. fall — to drop
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. tube — a container
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fall — to drop
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. stem — to come from
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. fall — the season
  22. cold — not warm
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. hide — to keep secret

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