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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: date · field · vault · kick · roll · capital · cell · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. field — for sport
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. capital — a city
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. club — a group
  13. cell — in biology
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — a safe
  16. cell — a phone
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — a cake
  19. capital — money
  20. club — for golf
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. kick — in football

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