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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: vault · board · track · wind · game · tube · perch · cold

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. wind — moving air
  3. vault — a safe
  4. cold — not warm
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. tube — the underground
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. track — a path
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. tube — a container
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. board — a committee
  16. track — a song
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. cold — an illness
  22. perch — the fish
  23. wind — moving air
  24. track — to keep track

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