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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bound — certain
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a lid
  8. field — a subject
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. bound — tied together
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cap — a hat
  16. march — music
  17. vault — a safe
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. saw — the tool
  20. field — for sport
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. hand — in cards
  23. field — farmland
  24. saw — the tool

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