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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. can — to be able to
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. club — for dancing
  10. can — a tin
  11. spring — a coil
  12. club — a group
  13. ground — the earth
  14. spring — the season
  15. ground — a position
  16. field — for sport
  17. club — for golf
  18. vault — a safe
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bat — the animal
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. spring — of water
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. can — a tin

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