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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: race · chest · field · lie · vault · present · bowl · pitch

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  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. race — a contest
  2. chest — of your body
  3. field — for sport
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. field — a subject
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. chest — a box
  17. pitch — completely
  18. lie — to recline
  19. present — there
  20. present — a gift
  21. race — humankind
  22. field — farmland
  23. present — the time now
  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