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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. field — farmland
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. field — a subject
  8. capital — a city
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. capital — money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. field — for sport
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. vault — a safe
  19. bass — the fish
  20. lie — to recline
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. kid — to tease
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. kid — child

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