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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: vault · ground · foot · spring · row · field · coach · mine

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. field — for sport
  3. spring — the season
  4. mine — for digging
  5. field — a subject
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. ground — the earth
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. row — a line
  10. field — farmland
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. ground — crushed
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — a measure
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. ground — a position
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. row — a quarrel
  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