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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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Word bank
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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. field — farmland
  5. rash — a series
  6. snap — to click
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. fine — all right
  9. vault — a safe
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. field — a subject
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. field — for sport
  17. rash — hasty
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. pass — a permit
  21. fine — high quality
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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