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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: jam · cap · field · kick · vault · season · hand · face

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. field — farmland
  4. season — in sport
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — of ice
  7. hand — help
  8. face — to confront
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. face — to point toward
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. field — a subject
  13. hand — in cards
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. vault — a safe
  16. face — part of the head
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. cap — a lid
  19. kick — in football
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. field — for sport
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. season — of the year

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