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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 120 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: field · chair · cold · hide · vault · mate · root · march

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mate — a partner
  6. march — the month
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. field — a subject
  9. march — the month
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a plant
  13. march — music
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mate — to breed
  19. vault — a safe
  20. field — farmland
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. field — for sport
  23. root — of a word
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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