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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 116 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: bowl · pit · band · press · root · tear · snap · vault

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. root — of a word
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. root — of a plant
  6. band — a ring
  7. vault — a safe
  8. pit — in a race
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. root — the cause
  12. press — newspapers
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. press — to push
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. band — a music group
  18. pit — a hole
  19. snap — to click
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. tear — from crying
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. press — a publisher

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