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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: vault · ruler · patient · kid · fan · field · lean · cap

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cap — a hat
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. lean — to bend
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — a safe
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. field — for sport
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. cap — of ice
  17. lean — thin
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. field — a subject
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. field — farmland
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. kid — child

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