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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. race — the arms race
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fine — all right
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. row — to paddle
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. stem — to come from
  21. vault — a safe
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. row — a line
  24. mine — for digging

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