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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. field — farmland
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. court — of law
  5. fine — all right
  6. field — a subject
  7. face — to confront
  8. vault — a safe
  9. court — of a king
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. face — to point toward
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. field — for sport
  14. fine — high quality
  15. face — part of the head
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. court — for sport
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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