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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. kid — child
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. drill — a practice
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — to tease
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. bound — tied together
  14. march — the month
  15. vault — a safe
  16. march — music
  17. bound — certain
  18. drill — army training
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bear — the animal
  21. drill — the tool
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bound — obliged

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