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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 116 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. lean — to bend
  3. race — the arms race
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. field — for sport
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. race — a contest
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. race — humankind
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lean — thin
  16. season — of the year
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. lie — to recline
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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