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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. wound — an injury
  3. field — a subject
  4. fine — high quality
  5. field — farmland
  6. vault — a safe
  7. field — for sport
  8. bat — the animal
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. race — a contest
  13. net — for catching
  14. bore — to tire
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bore — to drill
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. race — humankind
  20. net — in sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fine — all right
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. net — after costs

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