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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.

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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: pound · swing · spring · field · file · vault · race · stick

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. swing — in golf
  3. vault — a safe
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. spring — of water
  6. race — humankind
  7. spring — the season
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. file — a tool
  11. race — a contest
  12. file — a line of people
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. pound — a weight
  20. swing — to play on
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. file — a document
  23. field — for sport
  24. swing — music

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