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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. field — for sport
  3. vault — a safe
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. chair — a leader
  12. last — finally
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. last — final
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. cold — an illness
  18. nail — on a finger

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