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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: wind · field · board · foot · mark · cold · vault · bore

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. cold — an illness
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. board — a committee
  6. foot — a measure
  7. board — to get on
  8. mark — a grade
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. field — a subject
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. mark — a trace
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bore — to tire
  19. field — farmland
  20. wind — moving air
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. wind — moving air
  23. field — for sport
  24. bore — to drill

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