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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. vault — a safe
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. field — farmland
  11. row — a line
  12. sharp — clever
  13. field — a subject
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. row — to paddle
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. sharp — with an edge

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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