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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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Word bank
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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: bulb · rule · object · sharp · chest · field · vault · cap

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. vault — a safe
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cap — a lid
  5. rule — a law
  6. cap — a hat
  7. chest — a box
  8. field — farmland
  9. chest — of your body
  10. object — an aim
  11. bulb — for light
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bulb — for light
  15. field — for sport
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. field — a subject
  18. cap — of ice
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. object — a thing
  21. sharp — clever
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. bulb — of a plant

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