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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. field — a subject
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. cap — a hat
  5. net — for catching
  6. dip — to sink
  7. clip — to cut
  8. race — the arms race
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cap — a lid
  11. clip — a video
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. net — in sport
  14. pound — a weight
  15. field — farmland
  16. race — humankind
  17. net — after costs
  18. race — a contest
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. field — for sport
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. vault — a safe
  24. cap — of ice

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