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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: bat · land · can · patient · ground · drill · vault · pitch

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  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. ground — the earth
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. can — a tin
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. ground — a position
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — army training
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. can — a tin
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. drill — the tool
  16. land — a country
  17. bat — the animal
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. vault — a safe
  21. pitch — completely
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. can — to be able to
  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