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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. field — farmland
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. drill — army training
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. pop — to visit
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. field — for sport
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — soda
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. field — a subject
  24. wax — for sculpting

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