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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: mine · hand · last · roll · net · vault · cap · pit

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. last — finally
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. pit — a hole
  6. hand — help
  7. pit — in a race
  8. roll — a list
  9. cap — a hat
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. last — final
  12. last — to go on
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cap — a lid
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. cap — of ice
  23. net — after costs
  24. mine — for digging

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