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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bound — tied together
  3. content — happy
  4. race — a contest
  5. fall — the season
  6. field — a subject
  7. content — the amount
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bound — obliged
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. field — farmland
  16. fall — to drop
  17. ground — a position
  18. vault — a safe
  19. bound — certain
  20. race — humankind
  21. field — for sport
  22. ground — the earth
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. fall — to drop

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