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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: wind · ground · hide · field · file · vault · squash · wound

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. field — farmland
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. field — for sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. wind — moving air
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. squash — the sport
  11. file — a document
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. vault — a safe
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. ground — a position
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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