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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 116 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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pop — to visit
  4. capital — money
  5. pop — soda
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. pop — music
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. press — to push
  10. hand — in cards
  11. stem — to come from
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. press — newspapers
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. tear — to rip
  18. capital — a city
  19. vault — a safe
  20. wound — an injury
  21. press — a publisher
  22. tear — from crying
  23. hand — help
  24. wound — an injury

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