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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: vault · field · kid · fall · stock · plane · bowl · straw

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. plane — a tool
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. fall — the season
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. field — farmland
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. stock — shares
  14. field — for sport
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. kid — child
  17. stock — goods
  18. vault — a safe
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. field — a subject
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fall — to drop
  24. kid — to tease

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