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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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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: club · temple · mine · vault · drill · last · mark · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mine — for digging
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. club — for golf
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. club — for dancing
  9. last — to go on
  10. club — a group
  11. mark — a grade
  12. drill — army training
  13. last — finally
  14. drill — a practice
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. last — final
  18. mark — a trace
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. drill — the tool
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. vault — a safe
  24. bowl — a football final

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