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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: game · fork · craft · field · vault · pitch · squash · kid

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pitch — completely
  4. kid — child
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. game — a match
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. fork — in a road
  11. kid — to tease
  12. vault — a safe
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. craft — boats
  20. field — for sport
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. field — farmland
  24. craft — a skill

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