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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. race — a contest
  5. deal — to handle
  6. field — farmland
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. court — of law
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. spring — a coil
  11. dip — to sink
  12. court — of a king
  13. race — humankind
  14. field — for sport
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. race — the arms race
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. field — a subject
  20. vault — a safe
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. lie — to recline

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