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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 116 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: field · row · vault · game · pitcher · firm · present · court

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  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. present — a gift
  2. row — a line
  3. field — a subject
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. field — farmland
  7. court — of a king
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. firm — a company
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. firm — steady
  13. row — to paddle
  14. game — a match
  15. court — for sport
  16. present — there
  17. vault — a safe
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. court — of law
  22. present — the time now
  23. firm — decided
  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