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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 120 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. stem — to come from
  3. chip — to eat
  4. vault — a safe
  5. race — the arms race
  6. dip — to sink
  7. race — humankind
  8. chip — for betting
  9. race — a contest
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wind — moving air
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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