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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: ball · spring · coach · lean · net · rock · vault · land

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. land — a country
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. land — ground
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to bend
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rock — a stone
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. net — for catching
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — a safe
  17. ball — a dance
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. net — after costs
  21. ball — a great time
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. net — in sport
  24. land — to come down

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