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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 · field · chair · racket · bowl · season · chip · band

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. season — of the year
  6. band — a ring
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chip — for betting
  10. field — for sport
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. band — a music group
  19. field — a subject
  20. season — in sport
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chip — to eat

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