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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mine — for digging
  3. field — farmland
  4. vault — a safe
  5. field — a subject
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bound — certain
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — obliged
  17. object — a thing
  18. ground — the earth
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. object — to protest
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. object — an aim
  23. ground — a position
  24. mine — belonging to me

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