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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: shower · field · vault · race · bear · bay

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. race — humankind
  3. shower — to wash
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. race — a contest
  6. shower — rain
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bear — the animal
  11. field — farmland
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. field — a subject
  17. vault — a safe
  18. bay — to keep at bay

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