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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. hand — help
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. can — a tin
  6. vault — a safe
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. dip — to sink
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bound — tied together
  14. can — to be able to
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. can — a tin
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. field — farmland
  19. bound — obliged
  20. spring — the season
  21. bound — certain
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. field — for sport

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