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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.

Make a worksheet

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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. vault — a safe
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. field — for sport
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spring — the season
  11. field — farmland
  12. spring — of water
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. drill — the tool
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. field — a subject
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. drill — army training
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. drill — a practice
  24. arm — a part of something

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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