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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: land · cabinet · cold · roll · saw · ball · pitcher · vault

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. roll — a list
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. roll — a cake
  9. ball — a great time
  10. land — ground
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. land — to come down
  14. vault — a safe
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. land — a country

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