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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: wound · vault · sharp · rash · field · pound · kick · root

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. vault — a safe
  3. field — farmland
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. root — the cause
  7. field — for sport
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. field — a subject
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. root — of a plant
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rash — a series
  23. root — of a word
  24. sharp — clever

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