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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  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. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. fall — to drop
  5. field — a subject
  6. fall — to drop
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. scale — in music
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — a safe
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fall — the season
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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