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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. hand — in cards
  3. last — finally
  4. hand — help
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. last — final
  7. vault — a safe
  8. field — a subject
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. field — farmland
  11. kid — child
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. tear — from crying
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. field — for sport
  22. kid — to tease
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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