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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: vault · track · cell · field · stock · wind

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. field — a subject
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. field — farmland
  9. cell — a phone
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cell — in biology
  13. track — to keep track
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. track — a path
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. stock — goods
  18. track — a song

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