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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. mate — a partner
  5. field — farmland
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pound — a weight
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mate — to breed
  12. field — a subject
  13. game — a match
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. ground — crushed
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mate — a friend
  19. ground — a position
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. capital — a city
  24. field — for sport

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