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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. field — farmland
  3. vault — a safe
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. chip — to eat
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. field — for sport
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. field — a subject
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. cell — a phone
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. chip — for betting

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