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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: field · spring · bowl · wake · vault · chip · wound · jam

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. wake — a trail
  3. chip — to eat
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. field — a subject
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. field — farmland
  15. spring — of water
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. field — for sport
  19. wound — an injury
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chip — for betting
  23. vault — a safe
  24. spring — the season

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