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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. march — the month
  5. snap — to click
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. court — of a king
  8. vault — a safe
  9. march — music
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. key — for a lock
  14. court — of law
  15. pound — a weight
  16. key — the most important part
  17. ground — a position
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. ground — the earth
  21. field — farmland
  22. march — the month
  23. court — for sport
  24. key — in music

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