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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. fall — to drop
  3. key — the most important part
  4. fall — to drop
  5. field — for sport
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. field — farmland
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. hand — help
  11. clip — for paper
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. fall — the season
  14. key — in music
  15. bat — the animal
  16. hand — in cards
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. key — for a lock
  21. clip — a video
  22. field — a subject
  23. clip — to cut
  24. vault — a safe

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