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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. vault — a safe
  8. wound — an injury
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. field — a subject
  13. bear — the animal
  14. field — for sport
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bear — the animal
  19. field — farmland
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bat — for baseball

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