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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 · firm · wind · bat · vault · season · last · board

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bat — the animal
  4. last — to go on
  5. net — in sport
  6. firm — decided
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. last — finally
  10. net — after costs
  11. season — in sport
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. season — of the year
  14. firm — a company
  15. wind — moving air
  16. firm — steady
  17. net — for catching
  18. last — final
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. vault — a safe
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wind — to turn a key

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