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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: band · key · straw · scale · vault · bowl · mark · row

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. mark — a trace
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. key — the most important part
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. key — in music
  9. scale — in music
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. key — for a lock
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. band — a ring
  15. vault — a safe
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. band — a music group
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. scale — size or range
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mark — a grade
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. scale — for weighing

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