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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 120 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. hand — in cards
  2. field — for sport
  3. vault — a safe
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. staff — employees
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. staff — a stick
  11. cold — not warm
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. staff — employees
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hand — help
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. cold — an illness
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wake — a trail
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. field — farmland
  23. deal — to handle
  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