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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: stem · rest · vault · game · land · field · net · scale

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. land — ground
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. game — a match
  9. net — after costs
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. land — a country
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — a safe
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. rest — a break
  16. field — farmland
  17. stem — to come from
  18. land — to come down
  19. net — in sport
  20. rest — what's left
  21. game — wild animals
  22. field — a subject
  23. rest — what's left
  24. field — for sport

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