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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: vault · kick · chest · deal · stem · saw

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. vault — a safe
  4. chest — of your body
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. deal — to handle
  8. saw — the tool
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. saw — the tool
  13. kick — in football
  14. chest — of your body
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. chest — a box

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