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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: stem · cold · arm · vault · fall · capital · net · leaves

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fall — to drop
  5. net — for catching
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. fall — to drop
  8. capital — a city
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fall — the season
  14. stem — to come from
  15. vault — a safe
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. net — in sport
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. net — after costs
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. capital — money
  24. leaves — of a tree

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