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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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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. face — part of the head
  4. vault — a safe
  5. face — to confront
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. branch — a division
  8. tube — the underground
  9. field — for sport
  10. land — a country
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. face — to point toward
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. land — ground
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. land — to come down
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. wound — an injury

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