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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 120 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: kid · bowl · wound · stem · stick · vault · bat · patient

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. kid — child
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kid — to tease
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. vault — a safe
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bat — the animal
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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