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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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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: fork · vault · land · saw · hide · field · bowl · lash

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. field — for sport
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. land — ground
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. field — farmland
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. fork — in a road
  21. field — a subject
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. saw — the tool

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