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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. mine — for digging
  5. spring — the season
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. key — for a lock
  8. snap — to click
  9. spring — of water
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. key — the most important part
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. rock — music
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rock — a stone
  19. field — for sport
  20. key — in music
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. field — a subject
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mine — belonging to me

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