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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: fan · pitcher · wound · plane · bowl · hand · vault · season

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. vault — a safe
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. season — of the year
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. season — in sport
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. hand — help
  24. pitcher — a jug

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