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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 116 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. field — for sport
  3. vault — a safe
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. cold — not warm
  6. field — farmland
  7. pit — in a race
  8. mine — for digging
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. tear — to rip
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cold — an illness
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. field — a subject
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. deal — to handle
  22. pit — a hole
  23. craft — a skill
  24. cold — the Cold War

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