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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. bark — to shout
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fall — the season
  10. spring — the season
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. vault — a safe
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. field — a subject
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. squash — the sport
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — a coil
  24. snap — to click

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