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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. field — farmland
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. field — a subject
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. swing — in golf
  9. drill — a practice
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. vault — a safe
  12. content — the amount
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. swing — to play on
  16. drill — the tool
  17. content — happy
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. field — for sport
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. fall — to drop
  23. swing — music
  24. drill — army training

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