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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · vault · wind · hide · court · spring · can · field

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. court — for sport
  3. vault — a safe
  4. field — farmland
  5. spring — a coil
  6. can — to be able to
  7. rash — a series
  8. wind — moving air
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. court — of a king
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rash — hasty
  14. court — of law
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. field — a subject
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. field — for sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. can — a tin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spring — the season

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