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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. cell — a phone
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. row — a line
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. last — finally
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. vault — a safe
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bear — the animal
  24. row — to paddle

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