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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. lie — to recline
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. vault — a safe
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. suit — to fit
  10. field — a subject
  11. band — a music group
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. suit — clothes
  15. suit — in cards
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. field — farmland
  19. band — a ring
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. last — to go on
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. field — for sport

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