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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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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: squash · ground · firm · wind · vault · court · nail · row

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. squash — the sport
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. court — of law
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. ground — a position
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. firm — decided
  9. row — a line
  10. squash — to crush
  11. court — for sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ground — the earth
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. wind — moving air
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — a company
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. court — of a king
  24. nail — for a hammer

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