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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — decided
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cold — not warm
  8. field — a subject
  9. last — finally
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. field — for sport
  12. last — final
  13. cold — an illness
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. can — a tin
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — a safe
  19. last — to go on
  20. field — farmland
  21. game — a match
  22. firm — a company
  23. can — a tin
  24. branch — a division

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