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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 116 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  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. kid — child
  2. rash — hasty
  3. field — a subject
  4. hand — help
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. lie — to recline
  7. vault — a safe
  8. hand — in cards
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. root — of a plant
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. field — for sport
  13. kid — to tease
  14. field — farmland
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. root — of a word
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. root — the cause
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. rash — a series
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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