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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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Word bank
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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: wind · tear · nail · field · current · staff · vault · game

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wind — moving air
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. game — a match
  6. field — farmland
  7. current — electric
  8. current — happening now
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. staff — a stick
  14. vault — a safe
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. current — of water
  17. staff — employees
  18. tear — to rip
  19. staff — employees
  20. field — a subject
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. tear — from crying
  23. game — wild animals
  24. field — for sport

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