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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 120 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: vault · board · fork · field · capital · pitcher

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. 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. fork — a garden tool
  2. capital — a city
  3. vault — a safe
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. board — to get on
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. board — a committee
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. capital — money
  11. field — a subject
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. field — farmland
  14. fork — in a road
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. 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