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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bat — the animal
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. game — a match
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. content — the amount
  14. field — a subject
  15. content — happy
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. ruler — a monarch

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