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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 · scale · pitcher · mine · toast · pitch · field · fall

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. field — a subject
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. scale — in music
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. mine — for digging
  17. toast — bread
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. field — farmland
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. vault — a safe
  22. scale — size or range
  23. field — for sport
  24. pitch — completely

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