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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 120 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. field — farmland
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. field — for sport
  5. pit — in a race
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. field — a subject
  10. vault — a safe
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. craft — boats
  19. wake — a trail
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pit — a hole
  22. craft — a skill
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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