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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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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: bowl · vault · net · track · pop · spring

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. 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 — a dish
  2. pop — music
  3. vault — a safe
  4. net — in sport
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. net — after costs
  7. spring — the season
  8. track — a path
  9. pop — to visit
  10. net — for catching
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pop — soda
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a song
  17. spring — of water
  18. 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