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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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. vault — a safe
  2. game — wild animals
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. field — for sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. field — farmland
  11. game — a match
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bat — the animal
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. rest — a break
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rest — what's left
  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