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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: tube · vault · club · perch · cold · kick · racket · fine

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. club — for dancing
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. tube — a container
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. fine — high quality
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cold — an illness
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. club — a group
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. club — for golf
  20. kick — in football
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. perch — the fish
  24. fine — all right

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