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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spell — a short time
  3. swing — music
  4. field — a subject
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. field — farmland
  7. scale — size or range
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. spell — magic
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. spell — letters
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. swing — in golf
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. scale — in music
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. vault — a safe
  21. swing — to play on
  22. field — for sport
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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