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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: chest · kid · racket · bear · vault · field

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bear — the animal
  4. field — farmland
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. chest — of your body
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bear — the animal
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. field — for sport
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. field — a subject
  17. vault — a safe
  18. racket — for tennis

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