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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  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. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pound — a weight
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cold — an illness
  11. field — farmland
  12. vault — a safe
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. field — a subject
  15. branch — a division
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. cold — not warm
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. field — for sport
  20. deal — to handle
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bulb — for light
  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