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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. vault — a safe
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. band — a ring
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. chest — a box
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. field — farmland
  10. kid — child
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. season — in sport
  16. kid — to tease
  17. season — of the year
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. pound — a weight
  22. band — a music group
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. safe — out of danger

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