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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: nail · vault · game · land · wake · club · stand · pound

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. club — for golf
  3. stand — to bear
  4. land — ground
  5. wake — a trail
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. vault — a safe
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. land — to come down
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. club — for dancing
  14. game — a match
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. game — wild animals
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. land — a country
  19. pound — a weight
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. club — a group
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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