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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. chip — to eat
  9. capital — money
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. stem — to come from
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. prune — to trim
  15. vault — a safe
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. kid — child
  19. prune — to trim
  20. squash — the sport
  21. capital — a city
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. squash — to crush

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