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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: vault · pound · cap · kid · field · sharp · mark · game

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. field — farmland
  5. cap — a lid
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. mark — a grade
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. game — a match
  11. sharp — clever
  12. field — for sport
  13. pound — a weight
  14. vault — a safe
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cap — a hat
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mark — a trace
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. cap — of ice
  24. field — a subject

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