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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. game — wild animals
  3. club — for dancing
  4. field — for sport
  5. wind — moving air
  6. date — the fruit
  7. game — a match
  8. object — to protest
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. object — a thing
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. vault — a safe
  13. club — a group
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. wind — moving air
  17. object — an aim
  18. club — for golf
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. wake — a trail
  21. field — a subject
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. field — farmland
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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