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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 120 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: wound · band · nail · bowl · present · pitcher · root · vault

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. root — the cause
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. present — there
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. vault — a safe
  14. band — a ring
  15. present — the time now
  16. root — of a word
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. band — a music group
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. present — a gift
  24. wound — an injury

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