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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: face · band · bowl · wind · kid · court · mug · vault

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. mug — a face
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. wind — moving air
  6. face — to confront
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. court — of law
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mug — to rob
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. kid — to tease
  13. court — of a king
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. kid — child
  16. face — part of the head
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. band — a music group
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. wind — moving air
  21. vault — a safe
  22. court — for sport
  23. band — a ring
  24. mug — a cup

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