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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: bowl · bound · tear · snap · spell · club · file · vault

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. club — for golf
  4. spell — a short time
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. spell — letters
  7. club — for dancing
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. file — a line of people
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bound — certain
  13. spell — magic
  14. club — a group
  15. tear — from crying
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. bound — tied together
  18. file — a document
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. file — a tool
  22. bound — obliged
  23. vault — a safe
  24. snap — to click

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