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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. field — for sport
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. snap — to click
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. march — music
  13. pitch — completely
  14. squash — to crush
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. squash — the sport
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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