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

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. field — for sport
  3. clip — a video
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. chest — a box
  9. mug — a face
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chest — of your body
  12. field — a subject
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. field — farmland
  15. vault — a safe
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mug — a cup

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