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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: net · field · stick · race · march · vault · rest · capital

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. vault — a safe
  3. field — a subject
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. field — for sport
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. march — the month
  10. rest — what's left
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. march — the month
  17. race — the arms race
  18. field — farmland
  19. race — humankind
  20. net — in sport
  21. march — music
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — for catching
  24. race — a contest

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