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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. chest — of your body
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. deal — to handle
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stem — to come from
  7. chest — a box
  8. band — a ring
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. band — a music group
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. vault — a safe
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. shower — rain
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stand — to bear

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