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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. field — for sport
  3. rash — hasty
  4. suit — in cards
  5. cold — an illness
  6. board — a committee
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. suit — clothes
  9. clip — for paper
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. vault — a safe
  13. spring — the season
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. field — farmland
  16. board — to get on
  17. spring — of water
  18. field — a subject
  19. rash — a series
  20. clip — to cut
  21. spring — a coil
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cold — not warm
  24. clip — a video

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