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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 124 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. pop — music
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. field — for sport
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pitch — completely
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. field — a subject
  10. lean — thin
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. lean — to bend
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. date — the fruit
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. pop — soda
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. shower — rain
  21. pop — to visit
  22. field — farmland
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. date — on the calendar

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