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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: vault · game · plane · chest · fan · file · row · can

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. can — a tin
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. chest — of your body
  9. game — a match
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. chest — a box
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. can — to be able to
  15. plane — a tool
  16. can — a tin
  17. vault — a safe
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chest — of your body
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. fan — a supporter

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