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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: straw · stem · saw · cap · pop · nail · stand · vault

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. saw — the tool
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. pop — soda
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. pop — music
  7. saw — the tool
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cap — a hat
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. stand — to bear
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. pop — to visit
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. stem — to come from

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