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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: racket · spring · chest · vault · bark · current · bowl · squash

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. spring — of water
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bark — to shout
  9. current — happening now
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. current — electric
  13. chest — of your body
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. chest — a box
  18. vault — a safe
  19. current — of water
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. racket — for tennis

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