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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. field — a subject
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. press — newspapers
  8. wind — moving air
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. fine — high quality
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. press — to push
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. plane — a tool
  17. vault — a safe
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. press — a publisher
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. plane — in geometry

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