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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: pop · straw · wound · cell · vault · rest · root · land

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. pop — music
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. root — the cause
  7. land — ground
  8. cell — a phone
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pop — to visit
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. pop — soda
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. vault — a safe
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  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