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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wound — an injury
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. ball — a great time
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. field — a subject
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. vault — a safe
  11. lie — to recline
  12. spell — magic
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. field — farmland
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wound — an injury
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — a short time
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ball — a dance
  21. field — for sport
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. kick — in football

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