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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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Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. swing — in golf
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. swing — to play on
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. swing — music
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. field — for sport
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. game — wild animals
  17. vault — a safe
  18. field — a subject
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. field — farmland
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. tube — a container

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