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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: patient · kick · land · file · vault · game · ground · pitch

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. kick — in football
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. file — a line of people
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. ground — a position
  7. vault — a safe
  8. game — wild animals
  9. file — a document
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. land — a country
  12. file — a tool
  13. land — ground
  14. game — a match
  15. ground — the earth
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. land — to come down
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. ground — crushed
  22. pitch — completely
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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