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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. tear — to rip
  7. field — for sport
  8. tear — from crying
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. fall — to drop
  12. present — a gift
  13. wake — a trail
  14. field — farmland
  15. present — there
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. fall — the season
  19. field — a subject
  20. present — the time now
  21. tear — from crying
  22. vault — a safe
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. fall — to drop

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