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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. swing — to play on
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. cap — a lid
  5. field — farmland
  6. swing — in golf
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. field — a subject
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. swing — music
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cap — a hat
  16. vault — a safe
  17. tube — a container
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. tube — the underground
  22. clip — for paper
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bowl — a football final

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