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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: bowl · wind · safe · tear · wound · land · vault · mate

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. vault — a safe
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. wound — an injury
  7. land — to come down
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. tear — from crying
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. land — a country
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. mate — a partner
  20. land — ground
  21. tear — from crying
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. mate — to breed
  24. safe — out of danger

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