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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. ball — a great time
  3. field — farmland
  4. content — happy
  5. vault — a safe
  6. branch — a division
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mark — a trace
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. current — of water
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. field — for sport
  13. ball — a dance
  14. current — electric
  15. kick — in football
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. content — the amount
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. current — happening now
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. mark — a grade
  24. field — a subject

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