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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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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 · fan · pitcher · rock · pitch · fall · ground · field

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. vault — a safe
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. ground — the earth
  9. field — farmland
  10. rock — a stone
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. fall — the season
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. pitch — completely
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. fall — to drop

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