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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. track — a song
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cell — in biology
  5. track — a path
  6. bound — certain
  7. field — farmland
  8. mine — for digging
  9. track — to keep track
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. field — a subject
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. field — for sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cell — a phone
  22. vault — a safe
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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