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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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Word bank
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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. wind — moving air
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. field — for sport
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. branch — a division
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. chest — a box
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. chest — of your body
  18. foot — a measure
  19. wind — moving air
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. mouse — the animal

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