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

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. scale — size or range
  3. club — for golf
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. kid — to tease
  6. scale — in music
  7. vault — a safe
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. club — for dancing
  10. kid — child
  11. content — the amount
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. content — happy
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. face — to confront
  18. club — a group
  19. branch — a division
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — part of the head
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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