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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: vault · field · band · racket · last · fall · fork · march

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. field — farmland
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. field — for sport
  11. fork — in a road
  12. band — a ring
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. march — music
  15. fall — the season
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. last — to go on
  18. fall — to drop
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — a safe
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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