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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: chest · prune · bowl · calf · wind · vault

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. chest — of your body
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. chest — a box
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. prune — to trim
  12. chest — of your body
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. prune — to trim
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. wind — moving air

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