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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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Word bank
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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: racket · ground · cold · vault · kid · bowl

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. vault — a safe
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. ground — a position
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. kid — child
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. cold — not warm
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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