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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. toast — bread
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. wind — moving air
  8. field — a subject
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. deal — to handle
  14. wind — moving air
  15. drill — the tool
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. track — to keep track
  20. vault — a safe
  21. drill — a practice
  22. field — farmland
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. drill — army training

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