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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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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 · pitcher · club · rash · bowl · spell · fork · wound

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. vault — a safe
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wound — an injury
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. club — for golf
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. club — for dancing
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. spell — letters
  20. wound — an injury
  21. club — a group
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. spell — magic

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