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

Word bank: bowl · leaves · pit · wound · vault · wind · net · capital

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. capital — money
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. net — after costs
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. net — for catching
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. net — in sport
  14. pit — in a race
  15. wound — an injury
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. capital — a city
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pit — a hole

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