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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. field — a subject
  4. mine — for digging
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. rest — a break
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. fork — in a road
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. field — farmland
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. field — for sport
  19. rest — what's left
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. mine — an explosive

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