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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 120 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: mark · field · kid · wind · current · tear · vault · last

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. wind — moving air
  3. current — electric
  4. current — happening now
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — to go on
  8. current — of water
  9. kid — to tease
  10. last — final
  11. mark — a grade
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. last — finally
  14. field — farmland
  15. vault — a safe
  16. field — a subject
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. kid — child
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. field — for sport

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