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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 116 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. field — farmland
  4. rock — music
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bear — the animal
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. wound — an injury
  10. shower — rain
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. field — a subject
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. rock — a stone
  18. squash — to crush
  19. field — for sport
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. shower — to wash

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