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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. ground — a position
  4. current — happening now
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. track — a path
  7. stem — to come from
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. current — of water
  10. current — electric
  11. cold — an illness
  12. vault — a safe
  13. ground — crushed
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. ground — the earth
  22. track — a song
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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