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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. vault — a safe
  11. mate — a friend
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. fork — in a road
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. ground — the earth
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. mate — a partner
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — a position
  24. pass — a permit

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