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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.

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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pound — a weight
  4. file — a tool
  5. pit — a hole
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. cell — a phone
  9. land — ground
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. file — a document
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. field — for sport
  18. last — to go on
  19. cell — in biology
  20. last — finally
  21. file — a line of people
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. last — final

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