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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. spring — of water
  5. field — farmland
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. field — for sport
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. kid — child
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spring — the season
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. dip — to sink
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. field — a subject
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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