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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 120 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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. season — of the year
  5. lean — to bend
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. season — in sport
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bark — to shout
  15. lean — thin
  16. court — of a king
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. lean — to rest against

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