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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. court — for sport
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. vault — a safe
  7. file — a line of people
  8. court — of a king
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. land — a country
  12. lean — to bend
  13. dip — to sink
  14. land — to come down
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. land — ground
  18. plane — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. stem — to come from
  21. file — a tool
  22. court — of law
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to rest against

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