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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: chest · cabinet · mark · tube · pitch · field · nail · vault

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  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. mark — to pay attention
  2. tube — the underground
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. field — a subject
  5. mark — a trace
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. mark — a grade
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. field — farmland
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. chest — a box
  19. pitch — completely
  20. field — for sport
  21. chest — of your body
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  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