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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 120 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. march — the month
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. vault — a safe
  9. field — for sport
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pound — a weight
  22. bat — the animal
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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