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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. drill — a practice
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. vault — a safe
  13. clip — a video
  14. field — farmland
  15. drill — army training
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. clip — to cut
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. field — a subject
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. track — to keep track
  23. fall — to drop
  24. field — for sport

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