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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. field — farmland
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. field — a subject
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stock — shares
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. spring — of water
  11. land — a country
  12. stock — goods
  13. vault — a safe
  14. land — ground
  15. wake — a trail
  16. spring — the season
  17. land — to come down
  18. field — for sport
  19. spring — a coil
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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