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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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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. vault — a safe
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. field — for sport
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. band — a music group
  9. rest — a break
  10. field — farmland
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wound — an injury
  15. band — a ring
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. field — a subject
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fork — in a road

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