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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. field — a subject
  3. pop — music
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. bound — certain
  6. field — for sport
  7. pop — soda
  8. race — humankind
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. cell — a phone
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. race — a contest
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. stand — to bear
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bound — obliged
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — a container
  21. field — farmland
  22. tube — the underground
  23. race — the arms race
  24. stand — for spectators

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