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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: fan · ground · vault · fall · roll · trunk · tube · wind

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. ground — a position
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tube — the underground
  7. vault — a safe
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. roll — a list
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. ground — the earth
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. roll — a cake
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. ground — crushed
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. fall — to drop

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