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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. current — electric
  4. cold — an illness
  5. club — for golf
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. last — final
  8. bore — to tire
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. field — farmland
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to drill
  15. field — for sport
  16. club — a group
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. current — of water
  19. club — for dancing
  20. cold — not warm
  21. last — finally
  22. current — happening now
  23. last — to go on
  24. field — a subject

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