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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: ground · vault · cap · field · rash · ball · hide · fall

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. cap — of ice
  5. fall — to drop
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. field — farmland
  8. cap — a lid
  9. ball — a great time
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. rash — hasty
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. fall — the season
  14. ground — a position
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. ball — a dance
  18. rash — a series
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. cap — a hat
  21. ground — the earth
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. fall — to drop
  24. vault — a safe

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