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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — a safe
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. field — farmland
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kid — child
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. kick — in football
  13. field — a subject
  14. spell — a short time
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. spell — magic
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. field — for sport
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bat — for baseball

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