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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: vault · straw · ball · roll · land · stem · kick · wound

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. land — ground
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. vault — a safe
  5. land — to come down
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. land — a country
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. stem — to come from
  12. ball — a great time
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. kick — in football
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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