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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: toast · firm · race · field · vault · chair

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. firm — a company
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. race — humankind
  5. toast — bread
  6. vault — a safe
  7. firm — steady
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. chair — a leader
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — a contest
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. firm — decided
  18. toast — a drink to someone

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