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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: nail · game · wind · kid · vault · date · bowl · present

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. game — wild animals
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. kid — to tease
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — the fruit
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. present — there
  11. present — a gift
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. present — the time now
  16. kid — child
  17. game — a match
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. nail — on a finger

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