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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. spring — a coil
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pass — a permit
  6. tube — the underground
  7. kid — to tease
  8. field — for sport
  9. vault — a safe
  10. spring — the season
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. field — a subject
  13. present — there
  14. present — a gift
  15. kid — child
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. present — the time now
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. spring — of water
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. field — farmland
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — a container

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