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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 116 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: bowl · vault · present · perch · rock · bat · game · field

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. field — a subject
  5. bat — the animal
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. rock — music
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. field — farmland
  14. game — wild animals
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. rock — a stone
  17. game — a match
  18. perch — the fish
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — a gift
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. present — there
  23. field — for sport
  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