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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: mate · bulb · swing · last · wind · stem · vault · fall

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mate — a partner
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mate — to breed
  5. last — final
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. fall — the season
  9. vault — a safe
  10. bulb — for light
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bulb — for light
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. mate — a friend
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. fall — to drop
  19. last — finally
  20. swing — music
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fall — to drop
  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