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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 · pound · key · cold · ball · field · vault · mate

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. field — farmland
  5. key — in music
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mate — a friend
  15. key — the most important part
  16. key — for a lock
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. ball — a dance
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mate — to breed
  23. pound — a weight
  24. ball — a round shape

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