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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: bowl · plane · patient · game · clip · drill · pound · vault

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. drill — army training
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. clip — for paper
  12. drill — the tool
  13. vault — a safe
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. clip — a video
  24. pound — a weight

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