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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: tear · vault · track · cap · content · field · plane · mate

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. cap — a hat
  2. field — farmland
  3. vault — a safe
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. track — a path
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mate — to breed
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mate — a partner
  15. field — a subject
  16. cap — a lid
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. track — to keep track
  19. mate — a friend
  20. content — happy
  21. track — a song
  22. tear — from crying
  23. field — for sport
  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