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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: chest · kid · racket · bear · vault · field · season · dip

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. chest — of your body
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. kid — to tease
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. bear — the animal
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. season — in sport
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — to sink
  17. vault — a safe
  18. kid — child
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. bear — the animal

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