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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. vault — a safe
  5. ground — crushed
  6. staff — employees
  7. ground — a position
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stand — to bear
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — clever
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. ground — the earth
  15. field — a subject
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. field — farmland
  18. staff — employees
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. field — for sport
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. staff — a stick
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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