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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.

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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: bowl · chip · vault · land · bat · bear · present · wound

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. chip — for betting
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wound — an injury
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. present — a gift
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. vault — a safe
  19. bear — the animal
  20. land — to come down
  21. present — the time now
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. present — there

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