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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: vault · hide · wake · racket · bowl · lie · chest · field

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. vault — a safe
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. wake — a trail
  14. chest — of your body
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. field — farmland
  23. chest — of your body
  24. hide — animal skin

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