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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: vault · rest · land · mate · squash · firm · pitcher · spring

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. squash — the sport
  4. vault — a safe
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. mate — a partner
  7. spring — the season
  8. firm — steady
  9. squash — to crush
  10. mate — a friend
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rest — a break
  13. spring — of water
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spring — a coil
  16. land — to come down
  17. rest — what's left
  18. firm — decided
  19. firm — a company
  20. mate — to breed
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. rest — what's left
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. land — a country

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