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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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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. foot — a measure
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. field — farmland
  9. bass — low music
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — thin
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. march — music
  17. squash — to crush
  18. wound — an injury
  19. squash — the sport
  20. march — the month
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. march — the month
  23. field — a subject
  24. wound — an injury

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