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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 · capital · hide · ball · cold · mate · straw · vault

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. capital — a city
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. ball — a great time
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cold — an illness
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mate — to breed
  16. capital — money
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — a friend
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. vault — a safe
  22. ball — a dance
  23. cold — not warm
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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