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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pitch — completely
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. spring — a coil
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. vault — a safe
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. spring — the season
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. content — the amount
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. spring — of water
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. plane — a tool
  21. content — happy
  22. branch — a division
  23. field — for sport
  24. snap — to click

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