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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. tear — from crying
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. mine — for digging
  8. present — the time now
  9. staff — employees
  10. saw — the tool
  11. vault — a safe
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. field — a subject
  15. rock — music
  16. tear — to rip
  17. present — there
  18. present — a gift
  19. rock — a stone
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. saw — the tool
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mine — an explosive

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