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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: clip · vault · face · rush · rock · roll · sharp · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. roll — a list
  4. clip — for paper
  5. face — to confront
  6. roll — a cake
  7. rush — hurry
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. clip — to cut
  13. sharp — clever
  14. field — a subject
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. field — for sport
  18. rock — music
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to point toward
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. clip — a video
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rock — to move gently

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