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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. drill — the tool
  2. vault — a safe
  3. fork — in a road
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. spell — letters
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. field — for sport
  9. drill — army training
  10. court — of a king
  11. lie — to recline
  12. hand — in cards
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. court — of law
  15. spell — a short time
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. spell — magic
  22. court — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  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