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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: kid · field · bowl · vault · last · stem

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. kid — child
  8. vault — a safe
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. field — for sport
  15. last — to go on
  16. field — a subject
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bowl — a dish

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