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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. field — for sport
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. club — for dancing
  4. vault — a safe
  5. club — for golf
  6. spring — of water
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. spring — the season
  10. bark — to shout
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. club — a group
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. field — farmland
  20. mine — for digging
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. field — a subject
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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