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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: net · sharp · bowl · vault · roll · bat · board · spell

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. board — to get on
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. spell — magic
  7. board — a committee
  8. net — in sport
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. spell — letters
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. net — for catching
  14. spell — a short time
  15. roll — a cake
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. net — after costs
  18. roll — a list
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. vault — a safe
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. bat — the animal

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