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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 · racket · rest · field · land · prune · chair · wake

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. chair — a leader
  5. vault — a safe
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rest — a break
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. field — a subject
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. prune — to trim
  21. land — a country
  22. wake — a trail
  23. land — to come down
  24. prune — the fruit

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