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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. game — a match
  3. cap — a hat
  4. charge — in control
  5. field — farmland
  6. cap — of ice
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. game — wild animals
  9. chest — a box
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cap — a lid
  13. pound — a weight
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. field — for sport
  17. band — a music group
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. charge — a price
  21. vault — a safe
  22. charge — electricity
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  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