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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. vault — a safe
  3. rest — what's left
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. field — for sport
  6. rest — a break
  7. content — the amount
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. content — happy
  10. field — farmland
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. rest — what's left
  14. object — to protest
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. field — a subject
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. object — an aim
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. fan — a supporter

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