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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cell — a phone
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cap — a lid
  8. field — for sport
  9. cap — of ice
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. ball — a dance
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. ball — a great time
  15. sharp — clever
  16. field — a subject
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — for digging
  19. field — farmland
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. vault — a safe
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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