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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. last — final
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. can — a tin
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. fine — all right
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. field — a subject
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. vault — a safe
  17. last — to go on
  18. prune — to trim
  19. field — farmland
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. last — finally
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. fine — a penalty

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