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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: field · patient · vault · ground · can · roll · net · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. can — a tin
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. vault — a safe
  6. roll — a cake
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. ground — a position
  11. roll — a list
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. can — a tin
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. can — to be able to
  19. bat — the animal
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. field — for sport
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. net — for catching
  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