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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. row — a line
  3. lean — to bend
  4. field — for sport
  5. row — to paddle
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. craft — a skill
  12. wax — to grow
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. craft — boats
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. vault — a safe
  23. lean — thin
  24. branch — a division

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