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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 · leaves · bowl · field · track · cold · content · roll

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. cold — an illness
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. cold — not warm
  8. track — a song
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. roll — a list
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. track — to keep track
  17. roll — a cake
  18. content — the amount
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. track — a path
  21. content — happy
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. vault — a safe

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