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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · scale · clip · season · bowl · pitcher · mine · vault

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. field — farmland
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. season — in sport
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. scale — in music
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. clip — a video
  13. scale — size or range
  14. mine — for digging
  15. field — for sport
  16. clip — to cut
  17. season — of the year
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. clip — for paper
  21. field — a subject
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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