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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 120 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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Word bank
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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 · file · field · ground · game · last · swing · present

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. file — a document
  3. game — a match
  4. field — a subject
  5. game — wild animals
  6. last — finally
  7. ground — the earth
  8. present — a gift
  9. ground — crushed
  10. swing — to play on
  11. field — farmland
  12. ground — a position
  13. field — for sport
  14. vault — a safe
  15. file — a tool
  16. last — to go on
  17. swing — music
  18. file — a line of people
  19. present — the time now
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. swing — in golf
  22. last — final
  23. present — there
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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