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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. rock — a stone
  6. field — a subject
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. rush — hurry
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. date — the fruit
  17. field — for sport
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. vault — a safe
  24. field — farmland

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