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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. date — the fruit
  3. field — for sport
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. spring — a coil
  6. current — of water
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. vault — a safe
  9. current — happening now
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — to shout
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. current — electric
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. spring — of water
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. spring — the season
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bat — the animal
  24. field — a subject

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