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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. fine — all right
  10. chest — a box
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. pound — a weight
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. root — of a plant
  19. last — final
  20. field — farmland
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a word
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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