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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wound — an injury
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. snap — to click
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. wound — an injury
  9. deal — to handle
  10. field — farmland
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. vault — a safe
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. field — a subject
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. drill — the tool
  18. pitch — completely
  19. drill — a practice
  20. field — for sport
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. drill — army training
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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