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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. track — a path
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. field — for sport
  10. snap — to click
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. track — to keep track
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. vault — a safe
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. track — a song
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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