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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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Word bank
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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: spring · chair · racket · stem · dip · cap · vault · bass

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bass — low music
  3. dip — to sink
  4. vault — a safe
  5. spring — of water
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cap — of ice
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chair — a leader
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cap — a hat
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bass — the fish
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. cap — a lid
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. spring — a coil
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. stem — a stem cell

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