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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 · field · vault · bowl · last · net

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. tear — from crying
  3. last — to go on
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. field — farmland
  16. vault — a safe
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — to roll

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