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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. field — farmland
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. field — a subject
  10. fine — all right
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. field — for sport
  16. tear — to rip
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — a safe
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. last — final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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