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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 120 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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. vault — a safe
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. present — a gift
  5. field — a subject
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. clip — a video
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. clip — to cut
  14. field — farmland
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. stand — to bear
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. present — there
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. field — for sport
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. present — the time now

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