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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. field — farmland
  6. bound — obliged
  7. cold — an illness
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. field — a subject
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. track — a path
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bound — certain
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. bound — tied together
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. track — to keep track
  21. vault — a safe
  22. field — for sport
  23. track — a song
  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