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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 · face · land · bowl · bark · tube · wind · ball

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a great time
  7. land — to come down
  8. vault — a safe
  9. tube — a container
  10. land — ground
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. face — to confront
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. land — a country
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — part of the head
  24. wind — to turn a key

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