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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: rash · bowl · vault · pound · bear · can · cold · wound

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bear — the animal
  4. can — a tin
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — a series
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cold — not warm
  15. vault — a safe
  16. can — to be able to
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. wound — an injury
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. can — a tin
  24. pound — for dogs

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