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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: racket · staff · vault · root · bat · field · stick · mark

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. field — farmland
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bat — the animal
  5. field — for sport
  6. root — of a plant
  7. vault — a safe
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. staff — employees
  10. root — the cause
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. field — a subject
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mark — a trace
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. root — of a word
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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