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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 120 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. chip — to eat
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. vault — a safe
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. hand — in cards
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. mine — for digging
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. staff — employees
  15. scale — in music
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. foot — a measure
  19. chip — for betting
  20. scale — size or range
  21. hand — help
  22. staff — employees
  23. stem — to come from
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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